Shiny Happy Psychos
by Like.A.Puppet.Only.Dumber
Summary: Gary is alone in Happy Volts, passing the time by inflicting mental anguish on his fellow patients - but then Pete Kowalski makes an unexpected appearance, bringing with him a world of bribery and scandal.
1. Prelude

A/N: The motive behind this is simple: I want to write a Gary centric story xD I love Gary, he's awesome. He's just so bat-shit it's brilliant. So this is an attempt at a 'One Flew Over The Cuckoos Nest' stylee of Gary's life in Happy Volts. Oh yeah... and Petey will be there too lol. I imagine this has been done before, but I don't care xP Let me know if you like it!! Enjoy!

(EDIT: I've mushed the first and second chapter together just because it seemed a bit short and didn't get to the point :D)

* * *

**Shiny Happy Psychos**

Prelude

'Don't be such a fucking joke. You really think that you'll see outside of that fence? You think that one day you'll be able to walk down the street without orderlies flanking you on either side? You really _are_ dumb, aren't you? You always made out you were so smart, such a goddamn _genius_, but you're not. Even if you think for a moment, even for a _split second_ that there's _any_ chance you'll _ever_ get out of here, then you're crazier than I thought. You're destined to stay here; to _rot_ here. Hell will freeze over before you get out of Happy Volts, Gary Smith. Pigs will fucking _fly_.'

And that, ladies and gentlemen, was a therapist's _professional_ opinion. It is a direct transcript of the last words that Dr Marvin Thorne said to his patient before tearing up all his assessment records and quitting his job altogether. Twenty-two years Marvin Thorne had been a psychiatrist, twenty-two years of breaking down and attempting to rebuild the worst of Bullworth's 'mentally unwell' inhabitants. Approximately three weeks with the notorious sociopath known as Gary Smith and he had decided early retirement was in order.

And of course, this result was the only one that Gary Smith could have hoped for. He had worked hard during those three weeks and had finally managed to chip away the last of the moronic shrink's armour and expose him for the neurotic bastard that he really was. Once he was worn down it had been simple. A few suggestions that Dr Thorne had a few unresolved daddy issues combined with the odd insinuation that he and his brother shared a little more than brotherly love whilst growing up and the shrink had exploded like a volcano. And Gary had loved it. He had loved Every. Single. Moment.

Thorne was the fourth shrink that Gary had sent packing since being admitted to Happy Volts six months ago. The doctors couldn't understand how he did it, but not a single one of them had the balls to confront him to find out for themselves. If they had actually mustered up some courage and asked him _why_ he toyed with every single person who attempted to help him, he would reply with 'What the hell else am I meant to do?' There was nothing for him to read, the TV was only on for four hours a day and often only played _Bambi_ or _The Last Unicorn_ (Gary didn't mind _The Last Unicorn _that much, but he wouldn't admit it). Toying with people; screwing them up… well, it was the only other thing that could hold his attention for longer than five minutes. Especially since he had started trading his pills for dirty magazines with one of the night orderlies.

The dirty magazines weren't for him, obviously. To derive any sort of pleasure from those kinds of things he had to turn off his brain, and Gary's brain didn't turn off. Ever. He would use the dirty magazines to torment Fido Jones in the cell across the way from him. Fido was one hell of a laugh; he was practically terrified of women having been abused by his two older female cousins for most of his life. The look on his face whenever Gary slipped a picture of a nudie lady under his door… priceless. Fido would kick off so badly he would be in isolation for days. It was worth it, even if it meant that Gary had nothing to amuse himself with until Fido was out again. But the sheer terror in the boy's eyes made it worthwhile. Screw the pills; torture was Gary's drug.

Today though, Gary's muddled thoughts weren't on Fido Jones or his deeply troubled ex-shrink. He had overheard something yesterday that had him practically crawling the walls of his cell. There was a newbie joining B-Block.

Gary loved newbies. Well, he assumed he loved newbies. He was still technically the newbie being the last patient admitted to this dump. The other patients – mainly a big, sexually repressed gorilla simply named Al – had tried to have their way with him, treat him like the block's mascot (similar to good old Femme-boy), but a couple of carefully planned sentences later and the morons had been dribbling on the floor in babbling messes, most of them crying for their mommies who had probably done more than tuck them in at night to make them into the wrecks they had become.

Torturing these brainless wrecks was starting to get repetitive and boring. Fresh meat was just what he needed. He couldn't wait until he got his scarred hands on the unfortunate little psychopathic little twerp who had gotten himself a one-way ticket to crazy central.

Fresh meat. Yeah, that was just the ticket to calm him down. Screw the pills. Who needs meds? Geniuses certainly don't.

* * *

Fido Jones wailed mournfully in his cell across the hall. Screams and howls had a tendency to carry around the grimy, dull corridors of Happy Volts, and it seemed that at least twenty seconds had passed before the ghostly echoes of his voice finally dwindled away into silence.

Everyone on B-Block was a bit edgy today. Well, edgier than usual anyway. _Edgy_ was an understatement for the lunatics confined in this hellhole. Because the news of a newcomer was now official the whole block was on lockdown. No free roam today; the unfortunates of Happy Volts were destined to spend the rest of the day in their cells without even the comfort of their sanity for company. Apparently it was for their own safety, but Gary knew that it was because their newest resident wasn't going to be the same as the rest. He could sense these kind of things.

Gary lay on his hard uncomfortable bed with his hands behind his head and wondered how screwed up the newbie was going to be. He hoped it wasn't going to be another person with daddy issues, there were too many of them. They were too easy to torment. Gary wanted a bit of a challenge; perhaps a schizophrenic, that would be interesting. New, at least. The only schizo at Happy Volts had been transferred two months ago for fighting back when one of the orderlies felt like releasing a bit frustration. Safe to say that that particularly orderly wouldn't be releasing any more of his frustration any time soon.

The familiar sound of rattling keys echoed up the corridor and Gary's eyes flicked to the right, narrowed but alert. His ears pricked, listening for anything that could give up the identity of the newcomer. There was a loud low creak of the door at the end of the hall opening, then the sound of a few pairs of feet shuffling up the stained linoleum floor outside.

'Hey, pretty boy… Wanna be my roomie?' Al, the huge grisly gorilla in cell B3, hissed through the bars on his cell door at the new comer. Gary listened, smirking. Al only showed interest in people smaller than him – which of course didn't narrow things down all the much – but the particularly vicious note in his voice let Gary know that the newbie was going to be nothing but a runt. He wasn't going to last five minutes here.

'Shut up, Al,' the orderly barked, his voice followed by a _thud_ as he hit Al's cell door. 'Stop being such a fucking creep.'

A quiet, meek voice muttered a thanks. Gary's eyebrows abruptly drew together. Familiar voice.

'Cell B2,' the orderly said gruffly, not acknowledging the new resident's gratitude. 'You turn the place upside down and I'll come in and turn you upside down. I'm not here to clean up after you psycho bastards. Keep quiet and I'll let you be, got that kid?'

Gary sat up, eyebrows still drawn together. He felt a low churning feeling in the pit of his stomach and he didn't like it.

'Uh… are there no books?' the quiet, nervous voice enquired.

Definitely familiar.

Gary moved to the door a little quicker than he wanted to. The last thing he wanted to do was show his concern for something. Show that you have an interest in something for even a split second and those head screws out there would use it against you in a flash. He peered out of the small gap on his door, pressing his forehead against the bars until it hurt, but he could only see the back of the orderly. The new kid was already in his room.

'You got a bed and a toilet.' The orderly barked in response to the book question. 'That's all you nut jobs need. Recreation time is when _I_ decide, okay? So you just be a good boy and keep your trap shut, got it?'

A pause. 'I got it.'

Gary gritted his teeth. The bar was digging into his forehead, giving him a headache, and his eyes hurt from trying to see around the corner. He saw the orderly slam the cell door shut – cell B2, the one right next door to Gary's – and then lock it. He stepped back to move away but noticed Gary still trying to see out of the window.

'What the hell are you looking at, psycho?' the orderly spat irritably.

Gary looked at him for a moment before grinning. He didn't want to speak. He didn't want to give away his location. The kid in the next cell – if it _was_ who Gary thought it was – he would recognise his voice immediately. Now as long as the orderly didn't say his name…

'You're fucking creepy,' the orderly scowled, looking slightly wary, and then turned and marched away. He paused to slam his hand on Al's cell door again, and then left the block.

Gary stayed where he was for a moment, head pressed against the bars and grin still on his face. His mind whirred.

He decided he definitely liked the newbies.

Especially when the newbies turned out to be Peter Kowalski.


	2. Catch 22

One:

Catch-22

He wasn't going to cry. Even if the orderly had left and wouldn't be able to see him he wasn't going to cry. It was obvious he was broken enough, there was no need to make a show of it. And this part of the faculty was just so silent… the others would be able to hear everything. He could hear the whimpering of someone across the hall, the bedsprings in cell B3 squeaking gently, the light footsteps in the cell on the other side of him as someone paced back and forth. He looked down at himself, lips pressed together to stop them wavering. They had stripped him of everything, leaving him only with light green scrubs that he was quite sure had been worn dozens of times before him. They wouldn't even let him keep his watch, although it wasn't as if he needed it. He bit his lip and tried to fight back the rising lump in his throat.

Peter Kowalski wasn't supposed to be here. He knew it, and he was quite sure that the orderlies and the doctors knew it, but here he was anyway. This was all just a big stupid misunderstanding. He wasn't crazy. There was no way he, Petey 'Femme Boy' Kowalski – sometimes appearing to be the only sane person in Bullworth Academy – could be a crazy person. It was just downright impossible.

But when the cops had found him in that back alley, a brick in his hand and an unconscious and bloody Townie at his feet…

Pete felt his eyes welling up and wiped at them impatiently. Despite trying his best to prevent it he released a little gasp and a sniffle. The bedsprings to the left of him stopped, just for a second or two, and then carried on. Tentatively, Pete moved to the solid looking bed (or mattress, rather, it wasn't advanced enough to be called a bed). He prodded at it with his fingers before sitting down. He had sat on softer park benches. He sat there for a moment, staring at the grimy toilet opposite – the only piece of furniture in the tiny, rubber walled room besides the bed. The question that had been plaguing him ever since he had been dragged to the police station rose up in his mind, almost taunting him;

_ WHERE'S JIMMY NOW?_

_Jimmy's supposed to be your friend_, that taunting voice told him, calling out from somewhere in the darkest corners of his mind. _Your _best_ friend, he said that himself. And yet he just leaves you here… without even trying to explain what _really_ happened_…

Pete pushed those thoughts away and rubbed his forehead hard with his index finger. He screwed his eyes up tightly and ground his teeth. This wasn't Jimmy's fault. It was his own fault at being so slow. So frigging nervous. If he had just ran when they told him to…

It didn't matter anyway. He could sit here and run over the events of that night until he went insane (which was probably what would happen), but it wouldn't change anything. He was here, a patient in Happy Volts Asylum. Pretty soon he would have to mingle with the other crazies around here, probably be assigned with his own shrink. And of course he knew how these places worked; it had a _Catch-22_. If you sat and insisted that you weren't crazy they immediately assumed that you _must_ be crazy; but if you agreed and said you were crazy… well, they weren't exactly going to let you frolicking off out of the gates. He was well and truly stuck here.

There was one thing he was glad of, however. A few months ago he had heard that Gary Smith had finally been locked up – a full two years after the chaos at school that got him expelled. Pete had been a little saddened by the news (even if Gary had been completely insane, he had still briefly been one of Pete's only friends) but he was glad that Gary was somewhere where he couldn't hurt anyone else. He had been shipped off to prison, apparently. Why, Pete had no idea. Apparently Jimmy knew why, but then again Jimmy knew everything. Rumour was that Jimmy had been to visit Gary once or twice. He didn't talk about it much though. Jimmy kind of stopped talking about stuff after Zoe disappeared from the scene. Anyway, the good part of that was that at least Gary Smith wasn't here to make his time here even worse. Even though everyone had been convinced of Gary ending up in Happy Volts, he had simply ended up in prison – and hopefully that was where he would stay.

A wavering, exhausted sigh escaped Pete's lips and he lay back on the bed. The springs creaked beneath his slight weight. He could feel one of them poking up through the mattress, threatening to cut through the skin on the back of his leg. Pete lay there, wondering if Jimmy would help him. He listened to the sounds of the surrounding cells, the creaking bedsprings, the pathetic whimpering and the slow, pensive, pacing footsteps.


	3. Everyone's Innocent

A/N: I'd seriously love some reviews for this story, I get it's a bit depressing and moody so far, but it should pick up in the next couple of chapters :D Enjoy!

* * *

Two:

Everyone's Innocent

_ 'Petey, for fuck's sake, come on!'_

_ Pete could hear the desperation in Jimmy's voice, even over the sound of the approaching police sirens. But still his feet wouldn't move. His eyes wouldn't pull away from the blood that slowly pooled on the alley floor. _

_ 'Petey!' Jimmy yelled again. _

_ 'Just leave him, Jimmy!' Johnny Vincent barked. 'It's his own dumb fault if he gets caught!'_

_ 'Petey!' Jimmy called again, but he sounded further away now. Pete didn't know if that was because he was leaving or the sirens were simply drowning him out. 'Come _on_!'_

_ 'The cops!' Bif Taylor yelled. His cry was closely followed by the sound of scraping, fleeing footsteps. The large group of Bullworth students had dwindled down to three; Pete, Jimmy and Johnny Vincent._

_ 'Jimmy!' Johnny insisted._

_ Pete could sense Jimmy's hesitation. He didn't want to leave Pete here for the police; hell, Pete didn't want to be left for the police… but Pete had never seen anything like this happen in front of him before. Yeah he had seen kids get beaten up, but he had never stood back and watch another kid being practically _murdered_ in front of him. This was different… and he wasn't taking it well._

_ Jimmy gave up. Mainly because at that moment they heard car doors slam out on the street. Johnny dragged Jimmy in the opposite direction and the pair of them melted away into the darkness, the only evidence of them being there was the faint sounds of their feet drumming on the concrete. _

_ Pete finally looked away, his paralysis breaking. He lifted his hand, looking in confusion at the brick he held. Just as he was about to throw it aside and attempt to follow the others, cops poured into the alley._

_ 'Freeze!' one of them yelled, racing towards him. _

_ Pete didn't get the chance to freeze. The cop slammed into him, knocking him down to the ground. Pete was instantly winded. The brick skittered across the alley floor, coming to a stop in the growing pool of blood. Pete grunted as the cop straddled him, pulling his arms roughly behind his back. The cop read him his rights, but Pete wasn't listening. _

_ On level with the crumbled body on the ground, Pete stared into Zoe Taylor's glassy, unseeing eyes, her red hair matted with blood from the wound on the back of her skull…

* * *

_

Pete awoke with a jerk. He hadn't even realised that he had fallen asleep. At least he knew that it was possible on this poor excuse for a bed. He sat up, rubbing one eye and stretching his other arm out above his head. He went to check the time, but then remembered that he was apparently too crazy to be trusted with a watch and allowed his hands to drop heavily into his lap. He sat for a moment, staring glumly at the far wall, and wondered what the hell he was supposed to do now.

Just as he was about to lay back down and try and get back to sleep, his cell door _clunked _noisily. Pete looked to it, freezing in position. He had expected to see the orderly's harsh face at the little barred window, but there was nothing. Figuring it was just because of the old building, Pete went to lie down again.

There was another clunk. Pete sat up quickly – so quick that he felt a little lightheaded. His heart started to race in his chest. His brain frantically tried to think of something innocent that could be causing the sound, but nothing came to mind – apart from some crazy patient trying to pick the lock and do got only knows what to him. Pete hesitated, and then moved to the door.

Peering out of the small barred window, Pete didn't see anyone in the corridor. In fact it seemed darker than it had done earlier. Some of the lights had been turned out. Everything seemed dark and sinister, but then again it had looked that way even when the lights had been turned on full. Pete was quite sure that if there were a Hell, it would look remarkably like Happy Volts.

'You, kid,' a harsh, whispered voice hissed through the darkness. 'You new kid. Pretty boy… smooth face… yeah you, kid. Over here, _psst_… over here, new kid…'

Pete narrowed his eyes through the dimness, searching for the source of the deranged, hoarse voice. At first he saw nothing, but then a quick movement across the corridor caught his attention. At the window of the cell opposite his, a pair of wide dark eyes stared right at him. Pete froze for a moment. Those eyes were like a predators', checking out the fresh meat.

'Um… hi.' Pete managed to choke. He wasn't sure what else he could say.

'Hi?' the hoarse voice repeated, and then chuckled. 'Yeah, yeah… hi… yeah _hellooo_!' He laughed weirdly for a moment, and then stopped as abruptly as he had started. 'Who are you, kid? What's your name?'

'Pete.' Petey replied. 'Pete Kowalski.'

There was a shuffle in the cell to his left. He figured whoever was in there had decided to listen in to the conversation (if you could call it that) to find out about the new kid too. Those dark eyes opposite him widened even more.

'Pete… Peter Piper…' He laughed. 'Peter Piper picked a peck of pickled pepper…' He paused. 'My nanny used to say that to me. Right before she put a pillowcase on my head and stripped me down. You like women, Pete? You shouldn't. Not nice. Not nice at all…' He trailed off into a incomprehensible mutter.

_Great_, Pete thought grimly. It would figure that he was locked up with some psychotic sexist. He was probably some serial murderer or something. Would figure, Pete was in here for murder too.

'I'm Fidell.' The hoarse voice informed him. 'Fidell Jones. Or Fido. People call me Fido because they say I whine like a puppy. Do you whine, Pete? I don't hear it when I whine… I don't think it comes from my mouth. Why are you here, Pete? Why did they lock you up? Did you do something bad? Or were did you just have a messed up brain like me? They said I'm messed up so I can't go outside. It's not my fault, you know. I don't mean to be like this. Really… you believe me, right?'

Pete shifted uncomfortably, not wanting to be talking to this crazy person anymore. The desperation in the man's voice was unsettling. 'Yeah, yeah I believe you.' He replied.

Fido laughed. 'Then you must be crazy!' he cried, shrilly.

'Keep it down!' An orderly barked from somewhere in the blackness.

Fido hushed up, muttering and whispering for a minute or so. Pete watched as his pale fingers wrapped around the bars, his face nothing but a white oval in the surrounding blackness. His eyes gleamed like two shiny black pebbles, staring right at Pete – but Pete couldn't tell if he was being seen.

'So what did you do?' Fido asked.

'Nothing.' Pete replied. 'I didn't do anything. It was a mistake.'

'A mistake? Who, you?'

Pete frowned. 'No. I mean… it was a misunderstanding. They think I did something… but I didn't. It was someone else.'

'What did someone else do?' Fido asked.

Pete hesitated. 'They uh… killed someone.'

'So your someone killed someone?' Fido asked. 'I have a someone too. It's that someone who screams during the night, not me…'

Pete felt irritated. 'I'm telling the truth,' he snapped, surprised at the anger he suddenly felt. 'I'm not supposed to be here. It was an accident. But they don't believe me so I'm probably going to be stuck here for the rest of my life! Stuck in this hellhole with a bunch of lunatics and being fed crazy pills that will probably make me so screwed up that I eventually end up belonging here anyway…' He trailed off, realising with mounting anger that he was crying. He kicked the door in frustration, the sound echoing around the dark corridors. 'Jimmy just _left_ me!' he cried, wiping impatiently at his eyes. 'He left me there to take the fall! And I just let him! And now I'm stuck in here… My mom and dad think I'm insane! They think I'm some psycho murderer! But I didn't do it! I _didn't_!'

He stood, breathing heavily and trying to compose himself. Fido was silent across the hall. Pete wasn't even sure if he was listening anymore.

'This is all his fault.' He said angrily. 'If he hadn't gone… If he hadn't been such a psycho he could have stayed at school and helped me talk Jimmy around. He could have stopped all of this from happening.' Pete moved across to the bed and lay down heavily, pulling the pillow over his head. 'This is all Gary's fault.' He muttered. 'Gary… you bastard.'

* * *

In the next cell, Gary stood at the door with his head resting against the bars. His eyes were narrowed in thought and his hands compulsively squeezed the bars. He wanted to agree with little Petey; he _was_ a bastard. And maybe if he hadn't been so crazy then a lot of things wouldn't have happened…

But Gary didn't want to ruin the surprise just yet. He would reveal himself to Petey tomorrow. He crossed the room to his bed, lying down with his hands behind his head. He listened to little Femme-boy sobbing gently in the next room and closed his eyes. The sound was soothing… it was just like being back at school.


	4. Shower Talk

Three:

Shower Talk

The heavy metal door clinked and clanked as the orderly unlocked it. Gary remained still on the bed, eyes closed and hands behind his head. He wasn't asleep. He hadn't been asleep all night. These days he didn't need sleep. It was wasting valuable thinking time.

'Wake up you little freak,' the orderly barked, wisely staying by the door. This morning it was Gregory, a tall, muscular black orderly who most definitely had a vendetta against him. It more than likely stemmed from the time he had made the mistake of going to get Gary one morning, naively believing that he was asleep. Gary hadn't been. He had grabbed the orderly by the balls, twisted as hard as he could and had fled. He had actually gotten outside before the other orderlies piled on him. Gary had gotten one hell of a beating and a full week in solitary, but it had been worth it for Gregory's expression alone.

'Five more minutes.' Gary said, smirking.

Something soft hit him and he glanced up to see one of the faded grey towels. 'Showers.' Gregory barked. 'And because you're feeling so smart-arsy this morning, you can go in the end one.'

Gary sat up, smirk instantly disappearing. His eyes darkened. The end shower ran cold, and it was also the only shower that the orderlies didn't bother checking, meaning that if he was unlucky enough to be stuck next to Al…

'Don't make me drag you, Smith.' Gregory barked, banging one hand on the open door. There was a slight smirk playing on his mouth. 'Get a goddamn move on.'

Gary swung his legs off the bed, not removing his glare from the smirking orderly's face. He snatched up the towel, slid on his raggy hospital issue slippers, and moved out of the cell.

Automatically he glanced around to Petey's cell. The door was shut, which either meant that Petey wasn't going to have the pleasure of sharing shower time with his new housemates this morning, or he was already down there. Gary headed towards the shower room, Gregory close behind him, and ran over what he planned to say to Petey when he saw him.

As soon as Gary was pushed into the shower room he was faced with an all too familiar sight. He grimaced at the sight of Fido's skinny, naked body and shook his head.

'Jesus, Fido,' he muttered. 'No wonder your nanny used to strip you down the way she did. She was probably trying to figure out if you were actually human.'

Fido looked over his bony, pale shoulder at Gary; eyes huge. Fido rarely blinked. His black eyes were glassy and sunken in his gaunt face. His black hair was shaved up the back and around the sides, similar to Gary's, only Fido's was thicker on the top. He twitched at the sight of Gary before shuffling forward until he was practically pressed up against the tilted wall beneath the showerhead.

'You can't touch me toda-ay…' Fido told him in a nervous singsong voice.

Gary grimaced as he headed towards the end shower. 'Wouldn't want to.' He muttered. He turned around the tiled partition, figuring that Petey had been left in his cell to shower separately. He stood underneath the rusted old showerhead, ignoring the claw marks on the tile from unfortunates who had been left unsupervised in this corner. He went to pull of his light blue scrub-top, but noticed something that made him stop.

He smirked at the sight of that familiar, short and slim form standing beneath the steady stream of water of the third shower to his right. He stood with his back to Gary, obviously not aware of his presence just yet. The water drenched his dark hair, dripping down onto his shoulders, running down the middle of his back and over his bare buttocks, down the back of his smooth legs. If Gary didn't know any better he would have thought that Petey was a girl. Well, he guessed he was called Femme-boy for a reason.

Gary felt a twinge in the pits of his stomach as he watched Pete. He hadn't seen the little squirt since his last day at that stupid school, which was now about two years ago. Petey should be in his Junior year at Bullworth Academy, as should Gary. It was strange seeing him again; Gary knew fine well that if it hadn't been for little Petey then Jimmy wouldn't have stood a chance against him. There was no doubt that he would have still ended up here, but at least he would have gotten one over on that buzz-cutted little psycho before he had been sent away.

Despite that, Gary didn't hate Petey. He had never really _hated_ Petey – just thought he was a loser. If anything, while Gary had been at school Petey was one of the few people he could stand to be around. Even if all he did when he was around the smaller boy was torture him mercilessly…

Gary peered around the partition. The two orderlies were by the door, muttering quietly to one another and not caring about the patients under their watch. Smirking, Gary turned back to Petey and slowly moved towards him. The bottom of his scrubs got soggy as he stepped over the wet tiles, and the spray hit his bare chest. Grinning he moved close to Petey, quickly wrapping one arm around his waist, pushing one hand against the lowest part of his stomach and the other hand grabbing Petey's backside.

Petey let out a startled cry and tore from Gary's grip, feet sliding on the wet tiles. He slipped out of Gary's arm like a wet fish and pressed himself against the wall, eyes wide and terrified as he turned to look at Gary. The water from the showerhead rained down on his face, causing his eyelashes to flutter rapidly.

'Lesson number one,' Gary smirked, chest feeling like it would burst with exhilaration. 'Never turn your back to anyone in the showers. Not unless you like that kind of thing.'

Petey stared in horror at Gary, and Gary loved it. He blinked a few times as if trying to convince himself that the whole thing was just some kind of terrible hallucination, but Gary stood there defiantly, grin stretching on his face.

'C'mon, Femme-boy,' Gary chuckled, shoving Pete in his bare shoulder. 'Haven't you got a hello for an old buddy? Aw… Petey, you're hurting my feelings here.'

Pete blinked another couple of times before finally finding his voice. 'G… Gary?' he managed to splutter. Shower water flew off his bottom lip.

Gary glanced down at the small boy's nakedness and clicked his tongue in disapproval. 'Ah, Pete. Thought you might filled out a bit over the years. Guess you're a late bloomer, huh?'

Petey looked down at himself and quickly cupped his hands over his vitals. When he looked up again his cheeks were burning red. 'Wh… what are you doing here?'

Gary leaned one hand against the tiled wall like he was chatting out in a corridor somewhere with someone who wasn't completely naked. 'Well… probably because I'm crazy.' He shrugged, mocking thought. He turned his dark eyes back on Petey and grinned. 'But enough about me. What about _you_? Out of all the people at that rundown, shit hole of a school I never expected it to be _you_ sharing this luxury accommodation with me, Petey. So are you going to tell me what happened? Did someone finally catch you strutting around in your mom's best dress?'

Petey frowned and managed to look frightened, annoyed and humiliated all in one. He shifted uncomfortably, making sure his hands didn't move from their spot. 'It's got nothing to do with you.' He said, trying to sound confident.

'It's got everything to do with me, Petey,' Gary replied, moving closer and resting his hand on the wall by Petey's head. 'Because this is my house, and if you're moving in you're going to have to play by my rules.'

'I'm not playing by any rules,' Petey replied, eyes darting around. 'I'm not even supposed to be here.'

Gary lowered his face to Pete's, looking right into his eyes. He stayed there for a moment, making sure that Petey was well and truly terrified, before moving back. 'Well you know,' he said, making a point of sounding as jovial as possible. 'If you want me to stop Big Gay Al pounding on that skinny little ass of yours – in more ways than one, may I add – you're going to need my help, aren't you? The way I see it, Petey, is that you're _lucky_ that I'm here to guide you through the ropes. Don't you agree?'

Petey just frowned at him.

'Wait, you're not still holding a grudge over that whole nonsense at the school, are you?' Gary chuckled gleefully. 'Oh, Petey, that was _ages_ ago. Can't we forgive and forget? We're fellow psychopaths now, we need to learn to love each other.'

Petey's frown turned into a scowl. 'I'm not like you.' He said bitterly, turning away. 'I'll never be like you.'

Gary frowned and grabbed Petey's shoulder, roughly turning him back around to face him. 'Can't you remember lesson number one? Or do you want me to give you an example of the kind of things that happen if you don't abide by the rules?'

Petey blushed furiously, more out of outrage than anything else. 'Just leave me alone, Gary. It's bad enough being here.'

Gary squeezed his shoulder tightly. 'You and me, Petey, we're buddies. You need a buddy in a place like this. So how do you want it to be, Femme-boy? You want to be my friend, or do you want to be my plaything?'

Petey hesitated, eyeing Gary warily. After a moment he deflated, his shoulders slumping. 'Friend.' He muttered.

Gary grinned. 'Great! Absolutely fantastic. So you ready to tell me what your mom's thong felt like on? What did you stuff the bra with?' He shook his hand, preventing Petey from angrily retorting. 'Never mind, there's plenty of time for that.' He turned and moved back to his shower. 'Well allow me to be the first to welcome you to Happy Volts, Petey,' Gary said, grinning at him as he pulled off his trousers. 'I'm sure you'll find it… interesting… to say the least.'

Petey quickly looked away as Gary tossed his clothes aside and stood up. He began to turn away quickly, but the shock of being grabbed from behind must have still been fresh in his mind, as he settled with standing only half turned away so he could see Gary out of the corner of his eye.

Gary smirked at Petey's embarrassment. He had forgotten just how fun it was torturing that little twerp. 'We're going to be the best of friends here, Pete.' Gary grinned as he grabbed the shower nozzle. 'You'll see.'

Petey looked at him, eyes wide and worried. Gary winked before turning on the shower. He braced himself for the icy cold water that poured over him, but he still gasped as it hit his skin.


	5. Catching Up

A/N: Just want to say a quick thanks to gamefangurl and lovebully who I can't send review replies to :D

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Four:

Catching Up

Pete sat on the edge of the mattress, staring blankly at the wall opposite. His hair was still a little wet from the shower; he hadn't taken the time to dry properly. His scrub-top stuck to the dampness on his back and his trousers were uncomfortable, but that was the last thing currently on his mind. His hands were still trembling from the incident in the shower room. He was still trying to figure out whether it had actually happened or not…

Gary was at Happy Volts? Why hadn't he known? Everyone had said that he was in prison! A prison at least three towns away! And yet he was here, in the cell _right next door_! When Pete had turned and saw Gary looming over him, that snaky grin plastered across his face, he had been quite sure he was going to have a heart attack. The world around him physically stopped for a moment. Sound drowned out. He had been pretty sure that Gary was going to strangle him or something.

But what Gary had done was even worse, in a way. He had spoken to Pete the way he always had done. Mocking, malicious… but still kind of friendly. Gary's version of friendly, anyway. Apparently he just wanted to be friends. _Friends_. No way. Pete knew better than that. Jimmy had always said that if they ever ran into Gary again they both better be ready for one hell of a fight, because guys like Gary simply exist for revenge. He had put all his time and effort in a revenge attack against Jimmy, and Jimmy hadn't even _done_ anything to him. He was probably planning something right now.

The cell door opened with a _clunk_, causing Pete to jump. The burly, harsh faced orderly flicked the ring of keys around his wrist and sniffed noisily. 'Recreation time.' He grunted.

Pete looked at him nervously. 'Um… is it okay if I just stay in here?'

The orderly looked at him for a moment. 'No, it's not okay you little freak. Get your ass out into the common room before I drag you out.'

Pete frowned slightly before rising to his feet. He really didn't want to go out there, not just because of Gary, but because he didn't want to have to face the kind of people he was locked up with. He had caught a glimpse of a few of them in the shower room and they hadn't been a pleasant sight. He lingered for a moment, trying to think of an excuse to why he could stay in his cell. But when the orderly took a step towards him he scurried past and into the corridor.

'Hey hey!' Gary's familiar voice called out cheerily. 'Petey! What's the big rush? You want to get front row seats to today's showing of _Bambi_?'

Pete looked around worriedly to see Gary by the door of his cell, hands against the wall and legs parted as a big black orderly patted him down. Gary grinned at him over his shoulder. Pete figured that this was a daily ritual for Gary as he didn't even flinch as the orderly's hands ran down both sides of his leg.

'Come on, lady-killer,' the orderly beside Pete snapped, shoving the small boy hard in the arm. 'Stop gawking and get a move on.'

Pete got moving, scowling at the 'lady-killer' comment. He walked through the metal gate and through the heavy doors into the common room. Immediately he wished he had been able to stay in his cell. The sight of the room before him made his heart thud and he could feel panic creeping up on him. He didn't belong here. He hadn't even done anything wrong! They hadn't even asked him what had _happened_! They had simply dragged him to the police station, locked him in a cell for a full night, and then next thing he knew he was sitting down with his sobbing parents and having a shrink tell him he was _very disturbed_. It had all happened so quickly it still didn't feel real…

But seeing these people shuffling around the dusty, beige walled room with glassy eyes and drool covered lips… it kind of made everything hit home.

'Cosy, isn't it?'

Pete felt his whole body tense at the sound of Gary's voice in his left ear. This was all too much for him. It was inevitable that he would have gotten hysterical at some point, but with Gary here it was just going to make it happen sooner.

'Get away from me!' Pete cried, jerking away.

Gary looked momentarily bewildered, and then chuckled. 'Whoa, whoa there. What's got your panties in a twist? I was only asking if you liked the common room.'

Pete could feel his face burning. The orderly at the observation desk behind him watched curiously for a moment, but quickly lost interest. 'I just… leave me alone, Gary. I don't want to talk to you.'

Gary only smirked and put one strong arm around Pete's shoulders. 'Well that's too bad, because I want to talk to you.'

Pete tried to squirm out of his grip, but over the years Gary had gotten stronger. Apart from getting a little taller, he hadn't changed much at all; a lot like Pete who had barely grown in the past two years. Gary's skin was paler, which made his eyes look even darker and intimidating. His hair was the same as always; undercut and slightly shaggy on the top. Pete noticed he had a new scar below his left ear. Apparently his personality hadn't changed at all, which was unsettling.

'Let me show you around,' Gary said, not waiting to see if Pete wanted to be showed around. He pulled him into the middle of the room, neither of them receiving so much as a second glance from the others. 'Right… where would you like to start, Petey? You want to know about the gorillas or the cabbages?'

Pete finally managed to wriggle out of Gary's grip. 'I don't want to know about anything, Gary.' He frowned. 'Just because we're both in here it doesn't mean I have to talk to you. You might want to _forgive and forget_, but I'll never forgive you for the torture you put me through at school. So just back off and leave me alone.'

Gary smirked, but he didn't look amused. He just stared at Pete, eyes practically blazing. 'Well, well, well. Where did you buy those big blue balls, Femme-boy? I think I might get a pair of Fido for his birthday.'

Pete just exhaled heavily and turned away, suddenly feeling tired and dejected. 'Just leave me alone, Gary.' He muttered, and walked away.

He moved to a table tucked away in one of the corners and slid into one of the chairs, shrinking down and trying to make himself as invisible as possible. He looked down at his hands, not wanting to look at the room full of crazy people. He just wanted to close his eyes and pretend none of this was happening. It was all just a horrible, horrible nightmare and he would wake up any minute…

'So?'

Pete opened his eyes to see Gary sitting opposite him, chin resting on his fists. Realising Gary wasn't going to leave him alone any time soon, Pete sighed heavily and dropped his hands on the table. 'So what?'

'So what are you doing here?' Gary asked. 'Even I can tell that you're not crazy. A loser, definitely. But crazy?' He shook his head. 'So are you going to tell me what happened?'

Pete shook his head. 'No.'

'Why not?'

'Because I don't want to.'

'Aw. You embarrassed?'

'No. I just don't want to tell you.'

Gary frowned. 'Well you're about as much fun as a bag of crap. What's with the snappy attitude? That time of the month?'

Pete sighed heavily. 'Shut up, Gary. I just don't want to talk about it. Why can't you just leave me alone?'

'Because the only other halfway sane person to talk to in this place is Vinnie over there,' He pointed over his shoulder with him thumb. 'You see the kid at the poker table putting the chips over his eyes? That's Vinnie.'

Pete looked over. The man at the table looked in his late twenties, with floppy blonde hair and a thin, frail face. He had his head tipped back and was balancing poker chips on his eyes, mumbling incoherently as he did. In that moment Pete understood why Gary was so keen to talk to him. Gary was a sociopath, but he wasn't as far gone as the other patients here.

'I still don't want to talk about it.' Pete said, looking down at his hands. 'Not yet anyway.'

Gary exhaled heavily. 'God, you're such a woman.' He muttered. 'Well at least I know you haven't changed much. You're still the whiny little loser you were at school…'

'And you're still the same jerk you were at school.' Pete shot back irritably.

Gary laughed. 'Look at you! Feisty, aren't you?'

Pete rolled his eyes and looked away, folding his arms over his chest. He sat there for a moment before glancing back to Gary. 'Why was that guy searching you?'

Gary blinked. 'Huh? Oh, you mean Greg? Good old Greg…' He sniggered lightly. 'They like to make sure I haven't picked anything up on my travels around this dump. Greg's never been good at the whole searching thing though, he totally missed this.' He unrolled his sleeve and produced the plastic outer part of a biro pen. He hid it in the palm of his hand and flashed it to Pete like it was an illegal substance.

'A bit of a pen?' Pete asked, cocking an eyebrow. 'What's so great about that? You can't even write with it.'

Gary winked and grabbed a book that was lying on the table beside him. 'Thing you've got to learn about this place, little Petey, is that you've got to make your own fun.' He tore a corner off one of the pages and put it in his mouth. 'I mean, for the first few days it's kind of okay. There's a few comic books there. Nothing really interesting because they pull out all the pages with anything remotely violent on them. Don't want to encourage the crazies, I guess.' He chewed on the piece of paper, expression thoughtful. 'If you catch Vinnie on a good day you can have a pretty interesting conversation about hardcore trance music. If you're lucky he'll do a spot of dancing for you.'

Pete watched curiously as Gary swivelled in his seat and, with one swift – almost unnoticeable motion, he put the pen casing to his lips and blew the chewed up paper across the room. It slapped a skinny, twitchy young man on the side of the face and instantly set him off screaming. A moment later and the orderlies flooded in, grabbing the screaming man and pinning him down on the floor.

Gary chuckled as he tucked the pen casing back into his sleeve and turned back to Pete casually. 'So then Petey, you want to tell me what you've been getting up to for the past two years?'

Pete just blinked at him, ears ringing at the blood curdling screams of the man on the other side of the room. Then he realised with nauseating clarity that not only was he going to be stuck here for a long time, he was destined to spend almost every waking moment with Gary. And Gary certainly hadn't gotten any saner.


	6. Teasing It Out

A/N: I might not get a chance to update tomorrow, so I'm updating now :D Thanks to everyone who's reading and reviewing, it really helps!!  


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Five:

Teasing It Out

Gary was quite intrigued by the way Petey had turned out. Fair enough only two years had passed; that wasn't necessarily a long time – but it was long enough to expect some kind of change in a person. Pete hadn't changed much physically, he was still small and weedy with the same dorky haircut, but his attitude had changed. He wasn't afraid to answer back now. At school he always would have attempted it, but quickly bottled out. Now he was snappy and tetchy. But then again he had a good reason to be.

He watched the small boy as he sat hunched over the table, picking distractedly at his fingernails. His eyes were shut tightly. It was quite a sad sight actually; little Petey thrust into this awful world that he so obviously didn't belong in. Correction; it would be a sad sight to anyone with a rational mind. To Gary, it was just funny.

'Cheer up, Petey.' He said, bored with Pete's melancholy. 'It could be worse.'

Petey looked up with a frown and raised his hands. 'Really, Gary? Tell me, how could it possibly be worse?'

'You could have a Siamese twin that you share the same asshole with.' Gary shrugged. 'And your twin is gay.'

Petey frowned irritably. 'What?'

'I imagine that would be pretty bad. If you were straight. But then again I've never been able to make my mind up about you, Femme-boy…'

Petey went to stand up, sighing heavily. Gary moved quickly, thrusting one strong hand out and clamping it around his skinny wrist. He grinned up at Petey, savouring the flash of alarm on his face.

'C'mon,' he smirked. 'Don't be such a baby. Sit down and tell Uncle Gary all about it.'

Petey hesitated, then sat back down. Gary released his wrist and leaned back in his seat, deciding that he had a pretty good idea how the rest of recreation time was going to go. Fido would probably come over in a minute or so to tell them about one of his many traumatic nanny experiences. Theodore Fielding, the cabbage in the far corner who was currently chewing on the corner of an old Jane Austen novel, would probably have a little freak out and have to be sedated. Petey would let something slip about the reason he was admitted to Happy Volts.

'I heard you went to prison.' Pete said in a quiet voice, eyes refusing to turn to Gary.

Gary looked right at him, knowing it was making him uncomfortable. 'Well yeah.' He replied. 'Spend about twenty months there.'

'What for?'

Gary chuckled. 'Ah-ah, Petey. Doesn't work like that. You've got to give me some information before I give you some. Share and share alike… and all that nonsense. I need you to let me in on all the nasty little things you've been up to with that trash bag Jimmy before I tell you my life story. So… you care to share?'

Petey looked away stubbornly, but Gary could tell that he wanted to tell someone what happened. He just thought he didn't. The thing that Petey hadn't realised was that he was lucky to have Gary here. If he had been alone… well… he would have gotten more than a nasty shock in the showers this morning.

'It can't be that bad,' Gary frowned. 'You said yourself you didn't do it. Wait… are you covering for someone? You are, aren't you? You're covering for Jimmy!' He laughed gleefully. 'Oh, Petey, Petey, Petey… you really _are _dumb aren't you? You would really rather spend your whole life rotting away in this dump so Jimmy can keep running around and beating people senseless?'

Petey's face had gone pink. 'That's not it at all.'

'I bet you just wanted to impress him or something girly like that. I bet because he was the big bad king of the school he didn't pay you any attention anymore, so you thought if you took the fall for one of his stupid psycho outbursts then he might actually _respect_ you and maybe even think that you're not just the pathetic little loser that you so obviously are.'

'That's not it at all!' Petey snapped. 'You have no idea what happened that night! You can't say anything, because you don't know!'

Gary smirked. Petey was so easy to crack. Now he had to tell him what happened that night to defend himself from more insults. 'Well you're the one who won't tell me about it,' Gary shrugged, turning his head to look around the room uninterestedly. 'And that's what I figure any other loser like you would do…'

Petey sighed heavily and glanced around. 'Fine. I'll tell you.'

Gary grinned and leaned forward keenly, arms resting on the surface of the table. 'Good, good, Femme-boy. I'm glad you're finally deciding to play nice.'

Petey frowned and rolled his eyes, sinking even further down into his seat. 'I… Well… I kind of don't know where to start. A lot of things built up to it, y'know?'

Gary's eyes glistened. 'Who got killed?'

Petey's little face went white. He blinked a couple of times. 'Zoe.' He said finally. 'Zoe Taylor.'

Gary felt an uncontrollable grin take over his face. 'Really!' he cried, then whistled appreciatively. 'So Jimmy bumped off his girlfriend, huh? Figures. I always had him pinned as a wife-beater…'

Petey scowled. 'Jimmy didn't kill her.'

'Oh right. So you bumped her off, huh? Couldn't stand Jimmy giving her all that attention? Was it one of those lust-fuelled things?'

'I didn't kill her either! It was an accident! Look, Gary, do you want me to tell you or not? Because if you want me to then you're going to have to shut the hell up.'

Gary giggled, covering his mouth with one hand. 'Sorry, sorry. I just got a little over excited. It happens sometimes.' He giggled louder. 'I don't get out much, y'see.'

Petey just shook his head. 'Right. Well… Jimmy and Zoe were together for a little while after… y'know…'

Gary's smirk dropped slightly and he nodded. That whole incident was still fresh in his mind, even if it had been two years, and even if he did pretend it didn't bother him.

'Well… they were getting along pretty well for about six months or so… but then they started having some problems…'

Gary opened his mouth to make a sly jab about Jimmy's abilities to satisfy Zoe, but he was interrupted by a third person joining them at the table.

'They've got the watchers out.' Fido informed them, eyes wide and flicking between them frantically. 'They're up there, can you see them?' He bumped his chair around so it was beside Pete's and he wrapped a skinny arm around the boy's shoulders. He pointed up at the ceiling, pushing his arm under Petey's chin to make him look up also. 'See? In the sprinkler. Little black watchers… They're listening to your conversation.'

Gary rolled his eyes. Fido was good to torment sometimes, but the rest of the time he was just a pain in the ass. 'Buzz off, Fido, before I call your mommy.'

Fido looked at Gary sharply and then sneered. 'Ah-hah… you don't have my mom's number.'

Gary winked. 'Oh I do. I call her every night. She writes me often.' He unrolled his sleeve – not the one with the concealed biro casing – and pulled out a rolled up piece of paper. 'She sent me this to give you.'

Fido blinked at the roll of paper and tentatively released Petey. Petey jerked away, moving around the table to sit beside Gary. He watched apprehensively as Fido took the paper and uncurled it. A second later and he had shot out of his seat and was screaming bloody murder. Sniggering, Gary quickly rescued the paper and palmed it.

For the second time, the orderlies piled in. It took three of them to take Fido down, and a forth to administer a sedative. Gary watched only for a little while, losing interest quickly. He had seen Fido lose it plenty of times. It was hilarious, yeah, but old. Why would he play with his old toys when he had a brand new shiny one right beside him?

'Come on then,' he grinned. 'So Jimmy couldn't satisfy his girl. Then what?'

Petey was gawping at Fido, who was still weakly bucking and kicking beneath the three orderlies. 'What was on that paper?' he asked, incredulously.

Gary flashed him the small magazine cutting and Petey instantly grimaced a the highly detailed nude picture.

'Jesus, Gary!' Pete cried, pushing the picture away. 'You're such a pervert.'

Gary just laughed and slipped the picture away. Usually he would have tormented Petey a little about how quickly he had pushed away the picture, but he wanted to Petey to finish telling his story. 'Interval over,' he said, waving a hand. 'Keep talking.'

But the incident had closed Petey up. He shook his head and turned away. 'Later. I don't feel like it.'

Gary sighed and deflated. 'You're such a little tease.' He grumbled. He sat looking at the book on the table in front of him for a moment, before an idea struck him. He reached out and grabbed the book, opening it from the back and began to tear out the pages that had the least printed words on.

'What are you doing?' Petey asked, sounding tired.

'I want you to tell me a story, Petey,' Gary replied, rolling up the torn sheets as tightly as he could. 'I need some new reading material. I've already read everything in this dump, and that's including the ingredients on the back of the bleach bottles. You're going to write me a story.' He grabbed the front of Petey's trousers by the drawstring and pulled, stuffing the paper down past the waistband.

Petey grabbed at his trousers, cheeks flushing. 'Gary! Get the hell off me!'

'Oh shush.' Gary spat. 'Just make sure the gorillas don't find those papers when we head back in, got that?'

Petey shifted uncomfortably, rearranging the roll of papers. 'You want me to write down what happened?'

'Well yeah,' Gary replied. 'It'll give you something to do instead of jacking off and crying into your pillow. The same for me, too.'

'What am I supposed to write with? We're not allowed pens or pencils.'

Gary reached to the bottom of his shirt, running his finger along the sewn hem. When he found the small hole that he had torn there a few days ago, he reached inside and produced the vital piece that had been missing from the pen casing in his sleeve. He pushed the inner part of the biro in Petey's hand, glancing around to make sure no one was watching.

'What else have you gotten hidden in that shirt?' Petey asked, bewildered.

'Just stuff I think might be useful.' Gary replied. 'So you're going to write me that story?'

Petey contemplated it. 'Well… yeah, I guess so….'

'Tonight.' Gary told him. 'Then you can give me it tomorrow.'

Petey nodded. 'Okay, Gary.'

'Great.' Gary leaned back in his seat and cracked his knuckles. 'Well… guess I better make my rounds. Vinnie will feel abandoned if I don't spend at least five minutes chatting with him. And seriously, there's nothing more pathetic than having a fully grown man clutching onto your trouser leg and begging you to love him.' He sighed and shook his head, savouring this mental image, and then stood up. 'I hope you're a good writer, Femme-boy. And try to throw a couple of sex scenes in there. Y'know, just to spice it up.' With a wink, he headed away from Petey and towards the remaining cabbages.

He found that he was quite excited for tomorrow night. Excitement was something Gary hadn't felt for a long time, and he was grateful to Petey for returning it to him.


	7. Pen Scratch

A/N: Okay, so I did get a chance to update today xD Thank the horrible rainy weather for keeping me indoors lol. As usual, thanks to everyone who's reading and reviewing!!

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Six:

Pen Scratch

Pete had thought he would feel better once he was back in his cell, but if anything he just felt worse. Seeing all those mental patients in the common room made him wonder if that was how his parents saw him now. If all the students at Bullworth thought of him that way. Was he nothing but another drooling, psychotic mess to them? Did they think of him the same way they thought of Gary? Perhaps they thought worse, after all Gary had never killed anyone.

_And neither have you_, he told himself angrily. _You haven't done anything wrong, and don't start thinking that you did. It was just an _accident_._

Pete sighed and massaged his temples. Only one day had gone by and he was already thinking of himself as a criminal. If he carried on down that road he would never get out of here. But he couldn't help it. The guilt was almost unbearable. He didn't feel guilty about Zoe's death, he just felt sick when he thought about it. He felt guilty because he hadn't done anything to stop it.

And now Gary wanted him to write it all down. Jesus, he still couldn't believe that Gary was here. At first he had been numb with fear, expecting Gary to find a moment to cave his head in or something, but now Pete found himself strangely glad that he was around. Gary might be crazy but at least he could hold a conversation. Not the kind of conversation Pete particularly wanted to be part of, but it was better than spit bubbles and brainless babbling.

He looked around to the roll of papers and the skinny biro that Gary had given him. Pete wasn't sure if he could bring himself to write it all down, but he knew if he didn't then Gary wouldn't be very happy. He needed to keep Gary sweet, at least until he found a way to get out of this place.

Pete picked up the pen and the paper and pushed himself back on the bed so his back was against the wall. He unfurled the papers, rested them on his knee, and went to start writing. The pen touched the paper, but refused to form a word.

How to start? In all honesty Pete could write down what happened in about five lines, but Gary wouldn't be very happy with that. He would have dozens of questions. Pete only wanted to tell this story once, and he didn't want to have to repeat it – especially not for Gary. He needed to cover everything. Make sure there was nothing Gary could complain about. The whole truth. But it was going to be painful. Pete could feel an ache in his chest just thinking about it.

He took a deep breath, releasing it again slowly, and then began to write.

* * *

Gary was sitting on the floor, his bare back against the cool metal of the cell door. He picked at the stitching around the bottom of his shirt; trying to make a new hole to stash the little plastic fork he had successfully managed to swipe at lunch. The problem was that it was a little wider than the actual hem so it would be hard to slip it in and out easily…

But at least it was giving him something to do. Usually they would have had longer in the recreation room, but because two patients had gone batshit (due to Gary's doing), everyone had been sent back to their cells early. Gary didn't mind though, he was getting tired of listening to Petey's self-pitying sighs and grumbles. Petey wasn't going to be any fun until he loosened up a bit. Tomorrow he would probably be more fun, and hopefully tomorrow he would have a little novella to keep Gary occupied for a while.

Just as he finally got the little fork to fit in the hem of his shirt, a hard bang vibrated through the door and tickled his spine. He smirked at the sensation. 'Who is it?' he called, playfully.

'In the middle of the room, Smith.' Dan, the burliest out of all the orderlies, called to him.

Gary pushed himself up and moved to the middle of the room, casually tossing his shirt onto the bed. This was probably just a quick spot check of his cell. They did that from time to time. All the things he didn't want them to find were hidden away in his scrub-top, so if he left it in plain sight they hopefully would think nothing of it and leave it alone. Just as long as Gary didn't give them a reason to get too suspicious…

'Dan, my man!' he grinned as the door opened. 'It's been a while since you last dropped by.'

'Shut up, psycho.' Dan grunted, stepping in and filling the whole of the doorway. 'You're in a lot of trouble.'

Gary arched his eyebrows innocently. 'Me? Why I haven't done anything. I've been a quiet little psycho, just like you asked.'

'You know, I actually got a life outside this place,' Dan growled angrily. 'I got a wife and kids waiting for me at home. But because you set those two nutcrackers off earlier during recreation time, I've got to work late to administer some damn shock therapy.'

Gary mocked sympathy and clicked his tongue. 'Well, hell,' he sighed. 'I'm really sorry, that just didn't occur to me at all. How selfish of me. Guess your kids are going to have to beat themselves tonight, huh?'

Dan clenched his teeth and started forward, fists balled by his sides. Gary sniggered but recoiled. But then Dan stopped and a wicked look flashed across his face. 'Get your shirt on, Smith. We're going for a walk.'

Gary's smirk faltered a little and he narrowed one eye suspiciously. It was practically unheard of for anyone to be taken out of their cells at this time. He couldn't help but feel apprehensive, but he tried his best to not let it show. He moved to the bed and pulled on his scrub-top, careful to not let any of his bounty slip out of it.

'I hope we're not heading for the utility closet,' Gary smirked as he passed the burly orderly and went out into the corridor. 'I heard what you did to that pyro kid with the lazy eye. Your wife on another _business trip_, huh? Well, you got to get your kicks somewhere, right?'

Dan glowered at him and shoved him hard. 'Get moving, you little freak. If it were up to me we'd just strap you down in the Spark Shop and keep pulling the lever until you can't even open your eyes unaided.'

Gary chuckled as he made his way down the corridor, assuming they were headed for the communal room. 'If you were in charge then everyone would be sitting on soft cushions, you dirty bastard.'

He waited for Dan to unlock the gate at the end of the corridor and then walked through, but just as he was about to head into the communal area Dan grabbed the back of his shirt and redirected him.

'Wrong way.' Dan grunted, and pushed him towards the door that led to the shower room.

Now Gary was definitely apprehensive. Patients weren't even allowed in the shower room during the day, let alone after hours. Obviously by setting off Fido and the other nutcase earlier he had pissed off more people than he had intended. Which, of course, was wonderful, but he didn't really want to get a beating because of it. And anyway he had done dozens of worse things. Why the hell were they so worked up over a couple of guys who probably would have had freak outs on their own anyway?

Dan pushed Gary through the door and into the shower room. Gary stumbled a little before regaining his balance and taking a quick look around to make sure Big Al wasn't lingering nearby. Instead though, he was surprised to see a tall, slim and elderly man in a white coat and a clipboard. Gary recognised him instantly and he grinned broadly.

'Doctor Monroe!' he beamed. 'Well isn't this a surprise?'

Dr Monroe didn't look as pleased to see Gary. He glanced up over the top of his round, thick rimmed glasses and made a quiet, disinterested sound. 'Good evening, Mr Smith. I hope we didn't interrupt anything.'

Gary frowned slightly. This whole thing was definitely peculiar, and he didn't like it. 'Well I was in the middle of filing down a bar of soap to make a skeleton key so I could bust out of this place once and for all, but that can wait.'

Dr Monroe held the clipboard against his chest with one arm and pushed his free hand in his pocket. 'I know you're not an idiot, Gary. You know there's something going on here, so I'm going to cut right to the chase.' He took a few steps forward, expression thoughtful. 'I couldn't help but notice that you've taken a particular interest in the Kowalski boy. Any reason for that?'

'He has pretty eyes.' Gary replied.

Dr Monroe smiled, faintly amused. 'Is it true that the two of you attended Bullworth together? I have it on good authority that the two of you actually shared a dorm room for a while.'

'If you're looking to use selective breeding to create the ultimate crazy person, I'm sorry to tell you that Petey is actually a guy. I know, hard to believe, right? Made the same mistake myself once.'

'Just answer the question, Gary.' Dr Monroe told him, sounding bored.

Gary shrugged. 'Yeah, we shared a dorm. So what? Is there a strict _no ex-roomies_ in this place or something?'

'Not at all.' Monroe smiled thinly. 'In fact, it's quite good news. That means that young Peter will probably already be comfortable enough to talk to you.'

Gary narrowed his eyes. 'About what, exactly?'

Monroe sighed. 'Peter is… a very troubled boy. He needs to be here because he's a danger not only to himself, but to other people. You see, Gary, the evidence keeping him here isn't as… _solid_ as it needs to be to keep him in safe hands. His parents want to take him out, but that won't be any good for the boy. The only thing keeping him here at the moment is the authorities, and if that certain evidence becomes useless, then I'm afraid Peter will be put into harms way.'

Gary was frowning now. This sounded weird, definitely. He knew what was coming, but he decided to play dumb anyway. 'So? What has that got to do with me? I couldn't care less what happens to the little dork.'

Monroe smiled wanly. 'Well, Gary… If we can get a statement… any form of confession to what happened that night, we should be able to keep Peter here, where he would be safe.'

Gary cocked his head. Monroe was playing this the wrong way. He seemed to think that Gary actually _cared_ about Petey's well being. Gary couldn't give a damn what happened to Petey, as long as he got a bit of fun out of him before he went to wherever he was fated to end up. And anyway, if Gary really _did_ care about Petey's best interests, he certainly wouldn't help to keep him in this dump.

'Of course, if you agree to help us on this little… uh… _project, _shall we call it…' Monroe pushed his glasses up his nose and sniffed. 'You would get something in return.'

Gary's ears pricked up. 'Like what, exactly?'

'It depends on how useful the information you receive turns out to be. If you bring back exactly what we want well… then I could consider cutting down your sentence. Perhaps I could get… two years shaved off your sentence?'

Gary's eyes widened. Suddenly nothing seemed funny anymore. He had two and a half years left at this place. The possibility of getting out in six months time… it was like a dream come true. He mulled it over for a moment. Fair enough it would mean that Petey was stuck here forever… but then again the little twerp had always needed something to toughen him up and a long stint in this place would probably be just the trick. This wasn't about Pete's well-being. There was something else going on here, and he wouldn't be surprised if it involved cash being slid under tables somewhere…

'Well, Mr Smith?' Monroe enquired.

Gary grinned. 'I'll see what I can do.'


	8. A Bit Of Insight

A/N: Whoop, this chapter is actually kicking off the storyline now lol. Hope you like it. And again, major thanks to you brill reviewers :D

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Seven:

A Bit Of Insight

After being indoors for over forty-eight hours, Pete found the cool morning air refreshing in a way he never thought he would. It was that time of year between Winter and Spring, meaning the sun was out but there was still a bite in the air. The breeze whipped around him, making his skin pimple, but the sun felt warm on his face.

He was tired, but that was probably due to him sitting up all night and writing out the events of _that_ night on the pages that were now uncomfortably tucked down his pants. Once he had started the words had just poured out, along with the tears. He had had to rewrite two pages because his tears had smudged the ink, and the last thing he wanted was Gary to see how much it upset him. His right hand was in agony this morning from holding onto that tiny piece of biro. He couldn't straighten out his index finger properly, but he was sure that would pass. And at the moment, standing in the penned in gardens of Happy Volts, he didn't mind any of that. Because for the moment, he could pretend that he was free.

Someone bumped into his shoulder roughly, interrupting his moment of piece. Pete looked around, instinctively recoiling away, and watched the huge bulk of a man pass him by. He was practically the size of Russell, with dark tanned skin littered with white puckered scars. His light green hospital grown stretched over his muscles and his white scrub pants were too short for his legs. He wore no shoes and his huge feet reminded Pete of a Hobbit – which he obviously wasn't.

'Uh… sorry.' Pete mumbled, moving out of the giant's path.

The giant turned to him, eyes nothing but round black discs embedded in a solid, lumpy face. He looked at Pete for a moment, before a sinister grin broke out on his face, revealing jumbled yellowed teeth. This guy certainly wasn't a pleasure to look at.

Pete cringed, expecting something horrible to happen. He had a feeling that this was the infamous Big Al that Gary kept talking about. Before the beast could do or say anything, Pete felt hands clamp on both his shoulders and couldn't help releasing a little yelp.

'Mornin' Al!' Gary beamed over the top of Pete. 'Nice to get out, isn't it? You found any little dickey-birds to crush in those monster hands of yours?'

Al frowned deeply, obviously outraged at being interrupted. 'Yeah.' He grunted, and then jabbed Pete in the shoulder. 'Him.'

Pete grimaced with the pain. The prod had felt like someone had just thrown a brick at him and his shoulder now throbbed.

'Well, sorry, Al-buddy,' Gary went on, putting a protective arm around Pete's shoulders. 'He's my dickey-bird today. Maybe tomorrow, huh? Hey, you know what? I'm pretty sure I just saw Vinnie pulling up those flowers around by the gate.'

Al scowled, but abruptly turned and left. Pete was quite sure he could feel the ground shaking beneath him. He turned to Gary, for the first time realising that his heart was pounding. 'Thanks, Gary.'

'You're just lucky that Al feels so strongly about that flower patch. You know, for someone who takes so much joy from raping and pillaging, he feels very strongly about keeping flowers in the ground… But then again we _are_ in the nuthouse.'

Pete smiled wanly and wriggled out from under Gary's arm. 'So uh…. Do you get to come out here much?'

Gary smirked. 'You mean do _we_ get to come out here much. Every now and then.' He sucked in a deep breath and grinned. 'Ah, can you smell that Petey? I love the smell of burning cars and terrified sweat in the morning.'

Pete glanced around nervously. He was suddenly very aware of the papers he had tucked away and he realised the last thing he wanted was to give them to Gary. As if reading his thoughts, Gary shoved him in the shoulder.

'So did you write me that story, Petey? I hope you signed it. Might get some money for it one day when you're a world famous serial killer.'

Petey scowled. 'Shut up. I uh… I left them in my room.'

Gary's shoulders slumped. 'Why would you go and do something like that?'

Pete shifted uncomfortably and shrugged. 'I guess I just forgot.'

'I mean why would you lie to me, Petey?' Gary grinned, before grabbing his arm and pulling him forward. Without batting an eyelid he thrust his hand down the front of Pete's trousers.

'Gary!' Pete cried. 'What the hell?'

Gary pulled out the dog-eared papers, grinning from ear to ear. 'Can't you remember what we do to liars?'

Instinctively, Pete covered his groin, causing Gary to laugh loudly. 'You know, Gary,' Pete frowned. 'That's not very nice.'

'Yeah…' Gary shrugged, pushing the papers down his own trousers. 'Well sue me.' He grimaced as he readjusted his trousers. 'You better not have crabs, Petey.'

Pete rolled his eyes but followed him as he began to stroll alongside one of the many short hedges. Pete dragged his feet in the dirt, going to put his hands in his pockets but realised he didn't have any. 'So what was all that about last night?'

Gary glanced away. 'What was what all about?'

'I heard one of the orderly's taking you out of your cell.' Pete replied. 'Does that happen often?'

'Nope.'

Pete waited for more, but Gary had gone uncharacteristically silent. 'So… Are you in trouble?'

He laughed and shook his head. 'Not at all, little Petey.' He smirked and ruffled Pete's hair. 'Nothing for you to worry about.'

Pete pushed his hand away and frowned. 'Why did they transfer you here from prison anyway? I wrote down what happened to me so I think it's only fair if you tell me.'

'Why do you think they sent me here?' Gary sighed, looking bored. 'I'm _crazy_, Petey. Or didn't you notice?'

Pete rolled his eyes and looked down. 'No need to be a jerk about it.'

Gary sighed heavily. 'Don't get your panties in a twist. I just started a little revolution in the prison.'

'What a surprise.'

'Hey, I couldn't help myself. Seriously it was scarily similar to Bullworth, if not identical. Would have been a lot more fun with you there though.'

'Yeah, so you could torment me mercilessly.'

'Yeah, pretty much.' Gary stopped and sat down on a bench by the main building, stretching his arms over the back. He frowned, readjusted the paper in his trousers, and then relaxed again. He looked up to Pete, who was standing awkwardly beside him. 'Sit down man, geez. You're making the place look untidy.'

Pete perched himself on the bench, keeping a gap between the two of them. He looked around nervously, rubbing his arm. 'I can't stay here.' He said, shaking his head. 'I've been here two days and I'm already losing it.'

'That's how they get you,' Gary nodded. 'Drag you in when you're sane, wait until you're as mad as a ship's cat, and then toss you out on the street again. Why do you think about ninety percent of Bullworth is crazy?'

Pete rubbed his face. 'Well I don't want that to happen, Gary. This is my future at stake. I was supposed to go to college and… and move away from this crappy town and these stupid people. I've just got to get out of here. I'll do anything.' He turned and looked at Gary with desperate eyes. 'Seriously, I'll do anything to get out of here.'

Gary looked at him oddly. For once he wasn't sneering at him. If anything, he looked remotely sympathetic. And if there was one thing Pete was sure of in his whole life, it was that Gary didn't do sympathetic. The look on his face quickly passed though and the smirk returned. 'Well you should tell that to Dan. I'm pretty sure he'll have a few ideas of things you could do to get out.' He glanced around, running his fingers through his hair and making it stand on end. 'So, Petey… When it happened… Who was there?'

Pete frowned vaguely, not understanding. He opened his mouth to ask what he meant, but then he realised he meant who was there when Zoe was killed. Pete cast his eyes down and clamped his hands between his knees. 'I wrote it all down…' he started.

Gary snorted impatiently. 'Well I can't sit here and frigging read it, can I? I'm saving it. Just tell me Petey. I don't want to sit here while you sit and talk about your frigging pathetic future. Just don't ruin the ending for me, 'kay?'

Pete sighed. 'Well… I was there…'

'Really?' Gary said sarcastically. 'I never would have guessed.'

'Jimmy…'

Gary grunted in disapproval and muttered something under his breath.

'Johnny Vincent… a couple other Greasers… Um, Ted and Damon. Russell and the bullies…' He paused in thought. 'And Derby, Chad, Bif and Gord.' Pete looked to Gary to see his reaction and was surprised to see him looking so pensive. 'Is there something wrong?'

Gary just frowned vaguely. 'Sounds like Jimmy had an army rounded up.'

Pete just nodded grimly. 'Yeah.'

The pair of them sat in silence for a little while, and Pete actually felt better for it. Gary was silent, watching Fido on his knees a little further away, digging frantically in the dirt like a dog – ironically enough. The orderlies wandered around, looking bored and irritated. It was quite peaceful, actually. Pete found himself sitting back and relaxing a little.

'So how did you find being Head Boy?' Gary asked finally, breaking the long, tranquil silence. 'Did it get you much action?'

Pete frowned disapprovingly at his sneer. 'You're such a jerk.' He muttered. 'It was okay, I guess. People respected me.'

'Doesn't sound like it to me,' Gary shrugged, picking at his teeth. 'You haven't had any visitors and no one has come to back you up. From what you said there were plenty of witnesses to what happened…'

'Why do you have to do that, Gary?' he snapped, suddenly angry. 'This isn't a joke! Don't you think I've had a bad enough time without you saying things like that? Yeah I _know_ they don't give a crap now! You don't have to rub my face in it!' He stood up, knowing that if he stayed there he would only say something that would result in a nosebleed at the hands of Gary. 'You know, I thought you might have actually changed after all this time, but the truth is you're still the same screwed up bastard as you were at school. And you'll probably never change.' With that, he turned and stormed away.

'Aw, Petey!' Gary called after him, sounding amused. 'That really hurt! I'm sorry. C'mon, Femme-boy! Kiss and make up?'

Pete ignored him and continued away, taking refuge around the other side of the building. He slid down the wall and sat on the grass, holding his face in his hands. Thankfully, Gary didn't follow him, so he just sat there with his eyes tightly shut, and wondered why everyone had just left him here to rot. Why Jimmy had left him.

* * *

Gary had let Petey storm off, mainly because the little dork's whining was bringing him down. He was in a great mood this morning, and understandably so. Thanks to Petey's unexpected admittance to Happy Volts, Gary could be out of here in five months. _Five months_. If he was lucky he could catch Graduation Day at Bullworth Academy and give Jimmy a little going away present…

Everything he needed to secure that plan was tucked inside his trousers. Petey, being the naïve little thing he was, had just unknowingly signed his own death warrant. Okay, so the paper probably didn't say 'I killed Zoe Taylor' in big block capitals, but Gary had always been pretty good with forgery. A couple of altered words here and a little rewrite there, and Gary would have himself a ticket out of here in no time.

Gary smirked, realising he hadn't been this happy since the day Jimmy had been expelled from school. It actually tingled in his stomach. He could hardly wait to sit down and read through all this stuff and find out what actually happened.

Although Petey had already helped Gary figure out what was going on without realising. Now he knew why Doctor Monroe was so keen to keep him locked up. Bribery was certainly on the cards here, which meant someone who was there when Zoe was killed didn't want the blame taken from little Petey. Petey was a scapegoat. And the only person out of everyone there who had the money to do something like that?

Derby Harrington.


	9. The Letter

A/N: Sorry if this chapter isn't very good, I can't proof read it probably because I have the ultimate hangover. It's a miracle I even managed to write this sentence let alone the whole chapter. I'm sitting here with sunglasses on because the brightness of the screen is making my brain scream :( I couldn't go without updating today though, that's just mean lol. Enjoy then!

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Eight:

The Letter

Another thing about Petey that hadn't changed over the years was his handwriting. It was still the scratchy, loopy little girl writing that Gary had tormented him so much over at school. He felt like he was reading a damn love letter, not a confession. He was sitting in the corner of his cell, sheet off the bed covering him so he looked like a bad Halloween ghost. The orderlies didn't say anything about his peculiar state of being. They weren't surprised by anything anymore.

Gary narrowed his eyes at the scratchy writing and blew out through his nostrils. _Geez_, he thought irritably. _This is going to be like translating Chinese_. He just hoped Petey hadn't rambled his way through seven of these pages. It better be interesting. He flattened out the first piece of paper on his knees, blinked a few times to get his eyes ready for the squinting, and then began to read.

_Dear Gary_—

'Oh God…' Gary chuckled. Only Pete Kowalski could even manage to make himself sound like a fruit on paper.

_I don't really know what to write. It's not that I can't remember what happened that night. It's the opposite really, I can't forget it. And I don't think I'll ever forget it. I've never seen a dead body before. At least I _hadn't_ seen a dead body before. It was pretty scary. I think everyone was scared, but at least they had the sense to run and didn't stand there staring like a moron. I guess if I was stupid enough to hang around then I deserve everything I get. Johnny Vincent said it was my own dumb fault if I got caught, and he was right…_

Gary sighed in exasperation. 'Get to the point already…' he muttered, and then skipped down a couple of lines.

_Anyway, you're probably bored. I know it takes a lot to keep your attentions, Gary. So I guess I'll just get on with it. After you were expelled the school was pretty cool for a while. Everyone was getting along okay, even Johnny had stopped being such a freak about Lola and the Jocks would actually pass Algie in the hallway without trying to make him eat his library books. You know Jimmy was always pretty popular with the girls-_

Gary snorted. The girls of that school must be blind or retarded to get with Jimmy.

_-but after everything with you and the cliques, Jimmy decided he just wanted to be with Zoe. So they were. Together, I mean. They were together for a long time too. Up until 6 months ago or something like that. I can't really remember those details. She was pretty much all Jimmy talked about. He told me once that he was putting money away so the pair of them could leave Bullworth together when they graduated. I don't know if he meant it, but I did see him hiding money in his room one day. Anyway, they seemed to be getting on really well but then one day Jimmy came to me and he was all fidgety and nervous. I asked him what was wrong and he said that he was looking for her (Zoe) but he couldn't find her. I told him that it was no big deal, she was probably just in class or the library or something, but he started saying stuff about how Lola said she saw Zoe going down to Blue Skies. So what, I said, she lives in Blue Skies so she's bound to go there. But Jimmy just brushed me off and went away. I thought nothing of it for the rest of the week, until the fight outside the school._

_ It was weird because it had been ages since there was a real fight. The other kids were going crazy, especially the bullies. When I got there the police had just turned up and a couple of them had Jimmy pinned to the floor while the rest had hold of Omar. You know, that crazy Townie kid. Well Jimmy was going spare, yelling at Omar that when he got his hands on Edgar he was going to kill him. Before I could get to Jimmy to find out what was going on, the police dragged him off. _

_ I finally managed to get Tad Spencer to tell me what was going on, and he seemed to really enjoy telling me that Zoe had been seeing Edgar behind Jimmy's back. That didn't really sound right to me, so I went to find Zoe. I couldn't find her though, so outside the girl's dorm I found Lola and Mandy (yeah, they started hanging out after all the trouble – weird huh?). When I asked them if they had seen Zoe they just started giggling. Then Lola confessed that it was her who had started off the rumour that Zoe was cheating on Jimmy. When I asked her why she said that it was because Jimmy is too good to be wasted on 'Townie Scum' (her words, not mine) and she had just wanted to have a little fun. Apparently both her and Mandy thought that things were too boring these days and needed to be spiced up._

_ They didn't realise what they'd done though. Jimmy came back to the dorm later and went straight to his room. When I went in he was fuming, and started yelling about how he was going to go down to Blue Skies and kick the crap out of every Townie he could get his hands on. I tried to tell him what Lola had said but he wouldn't listen. He was way beyond reasoning. So I suggested he talked to Zoe, but he was having none of that either. I thought I would just leave him to sleep on it and try and talk to him in the morning, but he wasn't there in the morning._

_ I spent the whole day looking for him but I had no idea where he was. Finally I heard from Christy Martin that there was going to be a huge fight in Bullworth Town that night between some students and the Townies (she was loving it, as you can imagine). So I went to get Lola to try and get her to tell Jimmy that she had just made it up, but she just laughed at me. _

_ The only thing I could do was to go to Bullworth Town and try and talk Jimmy out of it. Of course that wasn't going to work though, when Jimmy's riled up for a fight there's not much that can bring him down. I've never seen him like that – he was so _angry_. Seriously, he was blazing. He never even got that angry with you, and he used to get pretty pissed at you. I expected the whole school to be there watching, but when I got there I just found Jimmy, a few of the Greasers, a few Preppies and a few Jocks. The guys I told you about. I tried to tell Jimmy again that it was all Lola's fault and that it wasn't anything to fight about, but he just thought I was there for the fight. He gave me a brick and said, 'Be a man, Petey'._

_ The Townies turned up before I could do anything else. The Townies are big guys anyway, you remember that they managed to beat down half the school during the riot. They're about as tough as Jimmy and I don't think I was the only one who nearly crapped my pants when they came into the alley with bats and metal poles. Jimmy started yelling at Edgar, telling him that he had no right getting with his girl. Edgar was just laughing. I guess he was just looking forward to a fight because he didn't deny it. He just told them all to quit messing around and get on with it. So they all just ran at each other. It was like one of those historic battles, you know? Just with bricks and metal pipes instead of spears and swords. _

_ I kept out of the way. I'm no fighter, and I wasn't there to fight anyway. Jimmy and Edgar went straight at it, beating the crap out of each other. I've never seen Jimmy fight like that. Both of them were cut and bloodied, but they just kept going. They were like dogs or something. Everyone else was fighting too. Chad got KOd pretty early on by a pipe. Then something happened to Ted and he split. It was getting really bad. I mean_ really_ bad, and then Zoe turned up. _

_ She went straight to Jimmy and Edgar and got between them, demanding to know what was going on. Jimmy called her a slut and she punched him, then everything kicked off again. There were a lot of guys in the way but I didn't really see what happened. But I knew _when_ it had happened. There was this awful silence, and at the same time everyone just stopped fighting. A few Townies ran off, then the bullies did the same. I still couldn't see what had happened. I could just hear Jimmy saying 'Zoe' over and over again. _

_ I guess I can figure out what happened. Jimmy and Edgar started fighting again. She was probably trying to split them up. Some of Jimmy's guys were trying to help Jimmy and a few of Edgar's guys were trying to help Edgar. I guess someone got confused… maybe didn't realise it was Zoe and thought she was trying to beat on one of them. One thing I'm sure of is that whoever hit her must have been one of the bigger guys because the dent the brick left in her head…_

_ Jesus Gary I can see it right now. There was blood everywhere. Jimmy was sitting on the ground with her on his knee, his own blood all over his face, Edgar's blood all over his knuckles and Zoe's blood all over his shirt. Everyone was just standing around in a big circle, staring at him silently. I remember thinking that I was going to faint. I'd never seen that much blood before, and she was making these weird gurgling noises. Her hand was twitching and everything. She tried to say something. I wasn't close enough to hear, but I'm pretty sure Jimmy said, 'I'm here, it's okay you'll be fine'. But then she just stopped. Stopped gurgling, stopped twitching. A couple of other kids ran off. Edgar was one of them. I think all the Townies split, I can't remember._

_ That was when we heard the police coming. Everyone just took off. They ran past me, knocking into my shoulders and stuff but I couldn't move. My eyes were just stuck on all that blood. I hadn't even realised that Jimmy had stood up until I felt him shove my shoulder as he ran past. He tried to get me to follow. I don't think it had sunk in what had happened. He had this weird pale and wide-eyed look. I think he probably would have stayed trying to convince me to get moving if it hadn't been for Johnny Vincent. Johnny just dragged Jimmy off. That's when the police turned up and… well, I guess you know the rest._

_ I didn't see who hit her. Everything happened so fast. If I just knew who it had been I'm sure the police could go investigate or at least decide that I'm innocent. I didn't do anything wrong, Gary, I swear. I shouldn't have even been there! I just wanted to help Jimmy! I wanted to stop something like this from happening, but I just managed to throw myself right under the wheels. And now I'm stuck in this stupid place… I've been thinking about it and I'm worried Jimmy thinks it _was_ me who killed Zoe, and that's why he hasn't come to help. But he must have known it wasn't me. I wasn't even in the fight! I didn't have a scratch on me! I've gotta get out of here, Gary. I'll do anything. If I stay here I don't know what I'll do. You've got to believe me. I didn't kill her. _

_ I can't write anymore. My hand is cramping up. Just say you believe me Gary. I need at least one person who doesn't think I'm a murderer._

_ Pete._

Gary drummed his fingers on his knee and chewed his lip thoughtfully. He did believe Petey. He had believed he didn't belong here as soon as heard his voice in the corridor. Petey was a lot of things, but he certainly wasn't a killer. A brain dead chimp could see that. Figured that it would technically be all Jimmy's fault.

For a few moments, Gary actually found himself feeling sorry for Petey. The kid was terrified, and all he had wanted was to help keep the peace. That's all Petey ever wanted; a bit peace. He was just in the wrong place for it.

The sympathetic feeling passed quickly and was replaced with a kind of pity. Gary pulled the sheet off his head and got to his feet, rolling the papers up in his hand. He had his own little saying for situations just like this one; It's sink or swim, and you've got to let the losers drown. And unfortunately for Petey, he was the biggest loser of them all.

Gary went to the door and loudly knocked twice. 'Hey, Dan my man! I've got an appointment with the doctor.'


	10. Numb

A/N: This chapter was painful to write :'( And for the record, I'm no doctor, and I know little to nothing about mental illnesses. So yeah... some of it might be jibberish xD

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Nine:

Numb

It was early the next morning. Pete had been sleeping lightly when the door of his cell was unlocked. He jerked awake and sat up, for a moment forgetting where he was. Then everything that had happened came rushing back to him and he felt his shoulders slump just as the door swung open.

'Your doctor wants to see you.' Dan the orderly said gruffly, looking like he would rather be anywhere else in the world. Pete knew how he felt.

'Doctor?' Pete asked. He didn't even know he had a doctor.

'Doctor Monroe.' Dan replied with a sigh. 'Look kid, just come on will you? I don't want to have to go and get the frigging sedatives just so I can get you down the hall.'

Pete shook his head. 'I wasn't arguing with you, I just didn't-'

'Great.' Dan interrupted. 'Well get a move on.'

Pete hesitated, glancing down at himself. His immediate instinct was to change or smarten up at least, but he only had one set of scrubs until shower time. Spurred on by Dan's impatient grunting, he slid on his slippers and quickly moved to the door. He said nothing as he was escorted to the locked gate at the end of the corridor and waited patiently as Dan opened it.

'So you knew that Smith kid before he ended up here, huh?' Dan asked as he locked the gate again behind them.

'Uh, yeah. We went to the same school.'

'Oh yeah, that hellhole academy.' Dan snorted distastefully and nudged Pete to get walking down the corridor. 'Yeah I got a pal who's got kids there. Little bastards they are. Never were like that before they went there, y'know. I reckon that school just makes tearaways. Like you, I bet you were a nice kid before you ended up there. Now look at you, lady-killer.'

Pete frowned deeply. 'I didn't kill anyone.'

'Yeah, yeah,' Dan shrugged uninterestedly. 'Innocent until proven guilty and all that crap. Whatever you say kid.' He came to a stop by a door with a frosted glass pane in it. 'You do know they don't just throw anyone in here. You're only here if you deserve it.'

Pete just continued to frown at him. 'Well they made a mistake.'

Dan sniffed and opened the door. 'Whatever you say, kid.' He gestured for Pete to go in, holding the door open with one thick, strong hand.

Pete walked in, head down and eyebrows knitted together. When he looked up though, his expression changed into one of shock at the two adults sitting opposite the grim faced doctor. 'Mom?' he almost choked. 'Dad?'

His mother's head whipped around. She looked pale and tired. Pete's parents were usually so neat and happy looking, so it was a shock for him to see them both looking so drawn. Mrs Kowalski let out a mournful sob that made him physically shiver before she shot out of her chair and pulled him into a tight embrace.

'Oh, Peter!' she wailed, the shrillness of her voice making him cringe. 'Oh Peter I've missed you so much!'

The smell of her perfume was too much for Pete and he had to fight a lump in his throat. 'I've missed you too, mom.' He managed in a small voice.

'Caroline.' Mr Kowalski said in a strained voice. 'Come on now.'

She let go of Pete reluctantly, her brown eyes wide and red-rimmed. She put her hands on his cheeks. 'Are you okay? They're treating you okay, aren't they? And you're not being any trouble, are you?'

Pete shook his head, very conscious of the doctor watching him from behind the desk. 'No, mom. I mean… it's fine. I'm fine.'

Caroline Kowalski turned and looked to the doctor, still clutching Pete's face in both her hands. 'He doesn't belong here.' She insisted. 'He hasn't done anything wrong. He's a good boy, Peter. He wouldn't hurt a fly.'

'Caroline.' Peter Kowalski Senior repeated, a little firmer. 'Please.'

She turned to Pete again, biting her bottom lip. She kissed him firmly on his forehead and offered him a strained, wan smile. It was an awful smile, and Pete knew that it would probably haunt him for a long time. She returned to her seat, folding herself into it and allowing her husband to take her hand. Pete looked to his dad, but he was sitting rigid in his seat, looking at the doctor.

'Sit down, Peter.' Doctor Monroe said, sitting forward and gesturing to the spare seat. 'We have some things to go through.'

Pete hesitated, glancing around to Dan. He stood by the door like a huge sentinel, watching him closely. Pete sat down; feeling embarrassed at looking so messed up in front of his parents. He must look terrible with his messy hair and the scrubs he had been sleeping in. He couldn't help but feel a surge of excitement though. Could it be that they finally realised that they had made a mistake? Were they going to let him go home?

'I understand that this is a very difficult time for all of you,' Doctor Monroe said, passive eyes moving between the three Kowalski's. 'It is always very difficult for a family who have had no experience of mental illnesses in the past. That is why I thought it best to have all of you here while we go through this.' He paused, eyes settling on Pete for a moment. 'As you know the police have being thoroughly investigating what happened the night Zoe Taylor was killed.'

Pete glanced quickly to his parents. His mother seemed to shudder involuntarily as his father squeezed her hand tighter. Pete had to look away.

'And it's unfortunate that so far there has been little evidence to prove exactly what happened in that alley. Despite reports that there were quite a few people involved, there has been no witnesses coming forward as of yet.' Monroe paused again, this time looking down at something on the desk in front of him. 'Which is why the police asked me to keep a special eye on Peter here, just in case he did or said something that might give some insight into what happened…'

'Excuse me for being so blunt, doctor,' Mr Kowalski said suddenly. 'But we've heard this before. We would prefer it if you got right to the point.'

Monroe cleared his throat. 'Of course.' He opened a file on his desk and lifted up something in what looked like a plastic evidence bag.

Any thoughts that Pete had about being released were suddenly blown out of the window. He stared at the papers he had given to Gary only yesterday, feeling everything going numb.

'We acquired these papers last night,' Monroe explained to his parents. 'It's a first hand account from Peter to his interpretation of what happened that night. It appeared he wrote them and passed them along to another patient, probably to try and prove his innocence to them. I've read through it a couple of times and… though it pains me to say it, I have to say that it is very likely that your son killed Zoe Taylor.'

Mrs Kowalski let out a loud sob, turning her face into her husband's shoulder. Mr Kowalski stiffened, face going even paler. Pete couldn't even bring himself to move.

'You see, I've come to the conclusion that Peter suffers from a split-personality disorder. He is quite adamant that he is not guilty, but refuses to say who could be responsible. And this report-' He shook the papers. '-suggests that he had little or no contact with the fight that took place. However when he was taken into the station he had grazed knuckles that consist with fighting, and he also had a couple of minor facial injuries, again suggesting that he was involved in the fight. My interpretation of this account is that Peter imagined watching his _other_ self committing these acts, merely as a bystander, as he could never believe himself being capable of such an act. I suppose to you and I we could compare it as a kind of out of body experience, only Peter saw his body as another individual. Someone not connected to himself. This kind of mental disorder can be a very dangerous illness, as the patient cannot and will not believe that they have done anything wrong…'

Pete tuned out. Everything around him seemed to start swirling. This couldn't be happening. What the hell was he saying? There was _no way_ that that was true! Were his parents really going to believe this crap? It didn't even make any sense! His heart started thudding in his chest and every muscle tensed.

He didn't even know he was standing up until he saw the terrified way in which his parents were looking at him.

'That's bullshit!' he yelled, his voice unfamiliar to him. It was hoarse and angry. Hot tears stung his eyes. 'That's not true at all! There's no way you could come up with that shit just by reading that!' Another jolt of anger shot through him, this time anger at Gary. 'How did you get that anyway? Did he give it to you? He did, didn't he? That _bastard_!'

'Peter!' Mrs Kowalski cried, but her voice was almost unfathomable through her sobs.

'This was confiscated in a routine cell check.' Monroe replied, eyes passive and unblinking. 'As were other prohibited objects that Mr Smith had hidden in his cell.'

'_Bullshit_!' Pete yelled again. 'I haven't done anything wrong! I went there to _stop_ the fighting! I didn't even _touch_ anyone!' He turned to his parents and was sickened when his mother cringed away from him. 'You don't believe this, do you? Do you really think I'm crazy? Do you?'

Mr Kowalski's jaw was clenched shut. 'You're not making yourself look any better, Peter,' he said through his teeth. 'Sit down.'

'No!' Pete yelled. 'I'm _not_ crazy!' He whirled around and moved towards the desk. 'You're a liar! You're making all this shit up! _Stop fucking lying_!'

It was then when Dan grabbed him from behind, slamming him down on the table and pinning his arms behind his back. Monroe simply pushed back from the desk, still with that slightly distant, uninterested look on his face. Behind his mother sobbed hysterically and his father sat silently.

'_Get off me_!' Pete screamed, tears flooding down his face. He kicked and thrashed, but Dan was more than twice his weight and kept him down easily. The rational part of his brain told him that he wasn't doing himself any favours, that he was acting like a crazy person, but he couldn't stop himself. The anger and the frustration was just too much for him.

'Hurry up, will you Greg?' Dan grunted. 'This kid's got a lot of buck in him.'

Pete managed to turn his head and look up to see that another orderly had arrived, and was currently filling a syringe with clear liquid. Pete started kicking again.

'No!' he yelled. _'I didn't do anything_!'

The orderly's heavy hand pushed down on his head and a moment later he felt a sharp pain in the side of his neck. Everything began to swirl around him. Black spots began to cloud his vision. He tried to keep struggling, but his arms and legs felt like they had been cast in solid concrete.

'I didn't… I didn't do…' His eyes began to roll back. Just before he blacked out, he heard Doctor Monroe's smooth, calm voice.

'Don't worry. Peter will be in good hands here with us. It's for the best.'


	11. Comeuppance

Ten:

Comeuppance

The orderlies must have been in a good mood about something because the patients were outside again for the second time in two days. This didn't happen very often. Mainly because the orderlies got sick of stopping the patients from trying to eat the foliage or trying to scale the surrounding fences. It was only a couple of weeks ago that Vinnie managed to get on top of the hut on the far side of the garden. He sat up there for two hours, throwing whatever he could get his hands on at the orderlies. A lot of what he threw wasn't exactly _hygienic_.

Gary sat at the outdoor chess table that had just recently been fitted and watched as Fido bounced the Knight around the board making horse noises. Fido wasn't the best person in the world to play chess with; he had a tendency to run off with the Queen and bury it somewhere. But there was little else to do. Petey hadn't been brought out with the rest of them, which made Gary wonder if Monroe had dropped the bombshell the he was destined to stay at Happy Volts. Probably. And Petey probably hadn't taken it very well.

Well it had to be done. There was no point _both_ of them rotting away in this crazy place. And if Gary hadn't given them the letter they would have only found another way of keeping Petey locked up. Opportunities like that one didn't come along every day, and Gary would have been an idiot to let it go by.

Fido used the Knight to attack one of Gary's Bishops, making slobbering, growling noises as he did so. Gary watched in boredom and wondered if Petey had managed to get himself thrown into solitary or something. It was then when something hard hit him in the ear.

With a startled cry Gary tumbled off the chair and landed on the floor. He looked around angrily, expecting to see Vinnie or someone like that, but was shocked to see Petey standing there, eyes huge and face white as a sheet. Gary's ear throbbed. He found it hard to believe that it had been Petey who had hit him. It had actually hurt quite a bit.

'Wow, Femme-boy,' Gary said, finding his smirk harder than usual. He got to his feet, rubbing his sore ear. 'You really got a bit of an okay hook there-'

He was cut off as Petey punched him again, this time in the jaw. Gary stumbled, knocking over the chess table. The pieces went everywhere, causing Fido to set off in a panic to find them all. Gary was shocked by the strength Petey had behind him. He wasn't anything special, granted – Gary had had a lot worse – but he had expected punches from Petey to feel more like being hit with a beach ball. Petey's sharp little jabs stung.

'Hey!' Gary cried, annoyed. 'Cut that out!'

'Do you have any idea what you've done to me?' Petey yelled, getting ready to throw another punch. 'You've ruined my life! Do you understand that!'

He slugged Gary in the ear again. The pain shot down through his head, giving him an instant migraine. It also gave him an instant temper and he threw a fist back at Petey, catching him on his chin. Petey stumbled, dazed, but caught himself on the chess table. He leaned on it and wiped his bottom lip. Blood smeared the back of his hand and he looked up at Gary, eyes like brewing storm clouds.

'You've ruined my life.' He said in a low, breathy voice.

Frowning, Gary touched his ear. There was blood on his fingers, but not a lot. He looked around to see where the orderlies were, but unsurprisingly they were turning a blind eye to the whole thing. 'I'll end your life if you try and punch me again, Petey.'

'Why did you do it, Gary?' Petey asked, expression pitiful. He was breathless and the blood from his bottom lip started to trail down his chin. 'Huh? Why did you sell me out?'

Gary smirked, but his heart was still drumming with rage. 'Selling out is just the right term.' He replied. 'What did you think I was going to do with that letter, Petey? Hide it under my pillow and check it's there every single night. They would have found it sooner or later, I just made sure it was sooner.'

Petey straightened up, fists curling. He looked like he was going to try and attack him again, but he didn't. Probably because he knew Gary would wipe the floor with him. 'But why? What would you get out of it? Do you really want me to suffer that much? My mom and dad think I'm a murderer! That… that stupid doctor told them that I'm some kind of schizo! Why did you feel the need to ruin my life, Gary? Do you really hate me that much?'

Gary snorted. 'Don't flatter yourself. I don't care about you enough to go to such measures just to see you miserable, Petey. I did it because Monroe promised to cut two years off my sentence if I helped him prove that you killed that Townie trash. Don't _you_ understand _that_? I'll be out of here in five months. What did I always say, Pete? You got to let the losers drown.'

Petey started forward again. 'You really think they'll let you out of here?' he snarled. 'You're an idiot if you think you'll be leaving in five months.'

Gary chuckled. 'They can't wait to get rid of me. Come on, Petey. It's got to make some sense to you, huh? If I hadn't given them those papers then they would have only found another way to keep you in here. Why should both of us suffer?'

'I trusted you,' Petey scowled. 'You're a… a monster! You're a _bastard_! You deserve to rot in here for the rest of your life!'

Gary waved a dismissive hand. 'Yeah, yeah. Tell me something I don't know, Femme-boy. Well it's pointless the pair of us rotting here, and obviously I would rather it was me who was leaving.'

Petey shook his head, top lip curling in disgust. 'You're a moron, Gary.' He spat. 'You'll get what's coming to you. Guys like you always do.' He turned and stalked off.

'Yeah, well what about guys like you, Petey?' Gary called after him, prodding at his sore ear. 'You never hear about the bad guys finishing last, do you? Huh?'

Petey didn't respond. Gary just snorted again irritably and checked for blood on his ear again. He muttered darkly and used the front of his shirt to wipe the blood away. While he was doing that, Dan the orderly came up behind him.

'Monroe wants to see you in his office.' He said gruffly.

Gary shot a glare after Petey and nodded. 'About time too.' He muttered, and followed Dan inside.

* * *

Doctor Monroe was sitting behind his desk, hands clasped on the smooth, polished oak as Gary stepped inside. He smiled thinly and gestured to one of the three empty seats opposite.

'Take a seat, Gary.' he said, an unfamiliar tone to his voice.

Gary sat down heavily, reclining casually and crossing his knees. 'Nice office,' he commented. 'Got to get me one of these one day.'

Monroe looked faintly amused. 'And I'm sure you will. One day. I have to thank you for getting those papers for us, Gary. They were a great help.'

'You're welcome,' Gary replied, touching his sore ear subconsciously. 'They would have only gone and blocked my toilet anyway. I was thinking… I'd like to have something to keep track of my last days here. Like a calendar or something that I can stick up on the wall. Preferably one of those ones with the hot chicks in the bikinis posing on a fancy car or something.' He paused in thought. 'Actually, forget the fancy car. You know what? Forget the bikini too, the chick will do. Just as long as it's got five months on it for me to keep track of.'

A faint smirk appeared on Monroe's thin face. 'And why would you want to count down the next five months, Gary? Are you expecting something?'

Gary looked at him for a moment, his smug smirk slowly fading. Realisation began to sink in. 'You said I could have two years off my sentence.' He said, eyebrows drawing together.

Monroe laughed softly. Dan also sniggered quietly from behind. 'You had three years of your _prison_ sentence left when you joined us, Gary.' A sly grin broke out on his face. 'You're not in prison anymore. At Happy Volts, a patient is required to stay as long as the doctor sees fit. In other words, Gary, you're here until you are cured.'

Gary felt himself tense up all over. He could feel his skin getting hot as the anger bubbled inside of him. 'We had a deal.' He said darkly. 'I stuck to my part of it, now you need to stick to yours.'

Monroe laughed again. 'Oh, I'm not backing out, Gary. I always keep my word.' He leaned forward, eyes widening behind his glasses. 'I'll tell you what. If you can prove that you will be cured two years from now, you're free to leave.' He waited for Gary to respond. 'Can you do that, Gary?'

Something popped inside of Gary and he shot out of his chair, grabbing Monroe by his collar. Before Dan grabbed him he managed to punch Monroe squarely in the middle of his face, causing blood to gush out of his nose. Dan wrapped one thick arm around Gary's neck and hauled him backwards.

'You'll regret this!' Gary yelled at Monroe. 'I'll make sure of it!'

Monroe stood with his hand over his bloody nose, eyes blazing with anger. 'Get him to solitary!' he ordered. 'And don't use sedatives. Use as much force as you need.'

Dan grinned. 'Yes, doctor.' He said, and then hauled Gary out of the door.


	12. Sympathy For The Devil

A/N: Thanks for all the reviews everyone, they really keep me motivated to update this story so regularly :D And if you don't mind (and you haven't already) there's a poll on my profile page that I would appreciate a vote on :P And just a warning for this chapter... SPOILERS FOR BAMBI!!! D:

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Eleven:

Sympathy For The Devil

Pete didn't want to do anything. He just wanted to stay in his cell, preferably under the covers where he could pretend that all this wasn't happening. He could ignore the faint wails of the other inmates from in here. Curled up on the bed with his head buried beneath his only pillow, he could pretend that he was jut back at school and simply dreading another day of mundane classes and bawdy, sadistic students.

But the orderlies had to torture him. His cell door opened around about the same time it did every morning. 'Up you get, Kowalski.' The gruff voice of Theo Kazan barked, rapping his knuckles on the open metal door.

Pete remained where he was for a moment, eyes screwed up tight. He didn't want to break out of this blissful ignorance.

'Hey, Kowalski.' The orderly snapped. 'C'mon. I haven't got all day.'

Pete pulled his knees up and pulled the pillow down harder on his head. He couldn't face it. Not today. He had lain awake all night, thoughts running over Gary's reasons for selling him out like that. He was angry with himself for not seeing it coming, but he was even angrier with Gary for having a hand in his permanent incarceration. Yesterday he had managed to stop himself from really going at it with Gary, but today he wasn't sure if he could hold it back.

'Kowalski.' Theo said, firmer. 'Don't make me drag you. You already got out of showers this morning.'

Pete hesitated, then realised that Theo wasn't going to let him stay in here. With a sigh he sat up, rubbing his pale, haggard face. He avoided looking at the orderly and slipped on his slippers.

'Thank you.' Theo grunted sarcastically. 'Get a move on.'

He shoved Pete as he walked past, pointing him in the direction of the communal area. Pete felt his skin crawling at the thought of seeing Gary sitting in there, probably with that smug, self-satisfied smirk on his face. He would delight at seeing how down Pete was this morning. And if he had confirmed his little deal with Monroe, he would probably be even more conceited than usual. He would rub it in Pete's face. Mercilessly. And love every moment.

Pete walked into the communal room, limbs feeling heavy and useless. He looked around, expecting to see Gary's scarred face grinning at him from the round table in the corner, but instead he saw one of the vegetables staring morosely at the floor, a string of drool hanging from his bottom lip. Pete's forehead creased slightly as he looked around. Fido was by the bookshelf, rearranging all the books into some kind of order that probably only he understood. Vinnie was biting the poker chips, ignoring Gregory the orderly who was telling him that if he choked then he wasn't going to help him out. Big Al was by the TV, fully engrossed in yet another re-run of Bambi.

Gary was nowhere to be seen.

Pete looked over his shoulder just as Theo closed and locked the heavy gate, and then looked back around the room curiously. He knew that Gary had gone to see Monroe immediately after Pete had punched him in the garden yesterday. Could it be that Monroe actually kept his word? Could Gary have been released already?

In a way, Pete hoped that he had. He wouldn't have been able to cope seeing Gary every single day for five months, knowing that he was going to be leaving on the back of Pete's misfortune. If that happened he thought he probably _would_ go insane.

Pete approached Fido, considering he was the sanest patient under Gary. _That says a lot_, he thought grimly as he watched Fido turn one of the books upside down and slide it back into its place.

'Hey,' Pete said shyly, waving awkwardly as he joined the thin, wild eyed man. 'Um… what're you doing?'

'Alphabetising.' Fido replied, not looking around.

Pete looked along the row of books that he had already 'alpabetised'. 'Well they're not really in alphabetical order, are they? I mean… you've started with _T_.'

Fido looked around at him sharply. 'I do it this way so _they_ don't know what I'm doing.'

Pete regarded him for a moment. 'Uh… okay.' He watched for a little while as Fido continued his peculiar, secretive ritual. 'Do you know where Gary is?'

'In the medical room.' Fido replied without missing a beat.

Pete blinked. He hadn't been expecting Fido to actually know. 'The medical room? Why? What happened?'

'Dan.' Fido answered, again just as quickly. 'Dan's never liked Gary. No one's ever liked Gary. Dan doesn't like anybody.'

'Dan beat him up?'

'Yup.'

'Why?'

'Because Gary punched Doctor Monroe in his nose.'

Pete raised his eyebrows in surprise. He certainly hadn't been expecting that. Of course he had a feeling that Monroe had been tricking Gary, but he hadn't thought that it would have ended up with Gary laid up. 'Well… will he be okay?'

Fido looked at him bewilderingly. 'Do I look like a doctor?'

Pete shrugged. 'Sorry, I was only asking.' He stopped and watched Fido arrange his system again, frowning in thought. 'How do you know what happened anyway?'

'Orderlies were talking about it.' Fido replied. 'Dan was laughing. He said he had been waiting for the opportunity to beat on Gary like that since the first day he was admitted. Gregory was annoyed because he had missed it.'

Pete looked around at the sound of approaching footsteps. Dan was approaching the gate, escorting Gary. For once, Gary didn't have that smug grin plastered across his face. He did have a square of bandage stuck to the right side of his head. His left eye was black and shiny and he walked with an obvious limp. His bottom lip was cut and swollen and it looked like he had stitches on his right cheek. Pete stood at watched as Dan unlocked the gate. Gary walked into the communal area without so much as a second glance at the big orderly. Dan just smirked and locked up, before heading away again, whistling cheerily.

Gary didn't look at anyone, especially not Pete. He moved across to the round table in the corner and sat down carefully, wincing as he did so. He didn't acknowledge the vegetable sitting opposite, and the vegetable didn't acknowledge him.

'Wow,' Pete mumbled. 'They did him over alright.'

Fido looked over uninterestedly. 'I know. I said.' He turned back to his books, losing all interest in Pete.

Pete lingered by the bookshelf for a moment, deliberating whether or not to go over. He was quite surprised with himself actually; he should have been happy to see Gary get him comeuppance like this, especially after he had been so adamant that he was going to be released. But Pete actually found himself feeling sorry for Gary. After all if he had been in the same situation – faced with a potential early release only to have it cruelly taken away again – Pete probably wouldn't have been able to handle the disappointment.

Slowly, Pete made his way over to the table and sat down in one of the wooden chairs. Gary was sitting back in his chair, palms down on the table and eyes burning a hole into it. He didn't make any indication that he knew Pete was there. After a moment, Pete cleared his throat.

'Go on then,' Gary snapped irritably, voice slightly hoarse. 'Rub it in. Go on. I got my just desserts, just like you said.' He turned his head and glared at him. 'Well what are you waiting for, Petey? Stick the knife in.'

Pete looked at him for a moment, and shook his head. 'Why would I do that?'

Gary looked briefly confused, but then scowled again. 'Doesn't matter if you do or you don't. I don't regret selling you out. I would do it again in a flash.'

Pete shrugged. 'Yeah, I know.'

Gary seemed to relax a little. 'Good. As long as you know that, Femme-boy. We're not BFFs or anything. If an opportunity like that swings my way again…'

'What, an opportunity to the shit kicked out of you?' Pete asked.

Gary shot him a steely glare. 'You're lucky I can't feel my legs right now, or I would come over there and smash your face in.'

Pete shrugged and leaned back. 'Well, are you going to tell me what happened?'

Gary eyed him. He looked confused. Probably didn't understand why Pete wasn't trying to punch him again, or why he wasn't at least laughing and mocking him. He hesitated before looking away angrily. 'You want me to pour my heart out to you, Petey? Not gonna happen. If you're looking for someone to cry on your shoulder then Big Al will probably appreciate it. I think the bit where Bambi's mom dies is coming up soon.'

Pete shrugged again. 'Okay, whatever. You don't have to tell me.'

Gary muttered something under his breath and went back to staring at the tabletop. Pete stayed where he was quietly. After a long silence, Gary glanced towards him again; frown not so prominent.

'Tell you something though, Petey,' he said quietly. 'I'm getting out of here within the next five months, whether Monroe wants it or not.' A gleam flickered in his dark eyes and the corner of his mouth curled up. 'And you're coming with me.'


	13. Intricate Schemes

A/N: I'm going to be a bit busy for the next week or so, but I'm going to try my best to keep the daily updates. It's just if I don't reply to any messages I'm not being horrible, I just probably don't have the time. But seriously, major thanks for the reviews :D

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Twelve:

Intricate Schemes

The weather wasn't as pleasant as it had been the last two times Pete had been outside. There were dark clouds gathering in the sky, and the grass was wet with dew. The miserable weather even seemed to deter Fido, as today he only lingered by the entrance to the building while muttering incoherently to himself.

Pete didn't mind the chill though. He was enjoying the peace. Although he couldn't help but think that Gary's mood was the thing responsible for the brewing bad weather. The two of them sat on the bench in silence. Gary was reclining back, still looking a little sore from his run in with Dan the orderly. He was looking across to the gates in deep thought.

Pete didn't want to interrupt him, but he had a few questions. Gary hadn't said much more since he dropped the bombshell that he was going to bust out of here. The most troubling part of it all was the fact he wanted to talk Pete with him. Pete figured the reason behind that one though; to piss of Monroe. It wasn't because Gary genuinely cared about what happened to him; he had proven that when he handed over those papers.

'There.' Gary grunted, speaking his first word in over three hours.

Pete blinked, unsure if he was just hearing things. 'What?'

Gary nodded to the gates. 'Two pm on the dot.'

Pete followed his gaze and narrowed his eyes slightly. A pea green coloured van was pulling up to the gates. Gregory had abandoned his post by the main building and made his way across to the gates, punching a code in a small keypad. The small door by the gate opened and Gregory slipped outside, closing the door firmly behind him.

'What's that?' Pete asked, watching as a young man hopped out of the drivers seat to meet Gregory.

'That's Owen Mansfield.' Gary replied, expression unchanging. 'Works for the local food market. He's the one responsible for the light brown mashed potatoes. He makes a fortune selling all his dad's out of date fruit and vegetables to this place. The orderlies just mush it up and think we can't tell the difference. Well to be fair, half of the idiots in this place can't tell.'

Pete screwed up his nose. 'He looks a little young to be running his own business.'

'Weren't you listening, Petey?' Gary snapped irritably. 'It's his _dad's_ stuff. He's just the delivery boy. Only every other day he gathers all the stuff that's just about to start rotting, tosses it in the back of the van and brings it here. It's supposed to be all under the table stuff. And it probably would be if anyone gave a damn.'

Pete watched the two men chatting and joking behind the fence. 'What's that got to do with anything?'

Gary rolled his eyes in exasperation and looked to Pete. 'You're as dumb as a brick of shit, Petey.' He sighed. 'That's our ticket out of here.'

Pete frowned. 'Rotting fruit and vegetables?'

'The van, moron!' Gary spat. 'We're getting out of here in that van.'

Pete tried to understand, knowing that another question would just annoy Gary further, but he seriously couldn't see how that van would help them get out. They would have to already be outside to get into it. Even Pete knew that as soon as they were on the other side of the fence it was simply a case of disappearing into the tunnels that ran up to the school.

'How are we supposed to get in the van?'

Gary scowled deeply at him and then sat up. 'Look, Petey, if we're going to do this then you're going to have to smarten up a bit. How do you think Owen gets his festering fruit _in_ to this place? He has to bring the van onto the grounds, idiot. In about five minutes we'll get rounded up and sent back inside. Then Gregory will have the fence rolled back, and the van will pull up outside the doors.'

Pete considered it. 'Then we'll hide in the back.'

Gary sat back again. 'Good to see you're not _completely_ retarded, Petey.'

'But how the hell are we going to get in the van without anyone noticing? I'm sorry, Gary, but it's a frigging stupid idea. Someone will see us. They'll _notice_.'

Gary grunted. 'Just leave it to me, Petey. I've got it all figured out.'

'But-'

'Just shut up or I'll toss you in the lake as soon as we get out of here.'

Pete fell silent obediently, but he still frowned thoughtfully. Gary was determined to get out of here, that much was clear. He knew that it was because Monroe had humiliated him. The deal had been to help Monroe keep Pete locked up, but Monroe hadn't kept his end of the bargain, so it was only fair that Gary undo his part of the bargain; i.e get Pete out.

It worked in Pete's favour, certainly, but he didn't particularly want to become some kind of fugitive. The news that he had bust out of a mental hospital with someone like Gary probably wouldn't bode all that well for his reputation. At least it wouldn't if he actually _had_ a reputation.

'I don't know about all of this, Gary.' Pete said, shaking his head. 'I mean… what if it goes wrong?'

'So what if it goes wrong?' Gary grunted. 'As if we've got anything to lose. If they catch us the worst thing they can do is toss us in the Shock Shop for a while. Seriously, after your second time you can't even feel it anymore.'

Pete looked at him worriedly. 'If you want to do it then that's fine… but I just don't want to make any more trouble. Maybe they'll let me out early on good behaviour or something. It's the least I can hope for…'

Gary turned on him angrily. 'You don't get it, do you? Monroe _knows_ you didn't do it.'

Pete blinked. 'How do you know that?'

'Because it's _obvious_! Why do you think he's so determined to keep you here? You're a scapegoat, Femme-boy. Someone wants you to go down for Zoe's murder to keep the heat off them.'

Pete stared at him for a moment, and then laughed nervously. 'Don't be so ridiculous, Gary…'

'It's one of the Preps.' Gary told him, grimly. 'It has to be. Who else would have the money to pay off the doctor in charge of Happy Volts? I'm telling you, Petey, you're doing time for someone else.'

'But why? Why would someone do that to me?'

'It's not personal,' Gary told him, losing interest. 'It's just that you were the only idiot who didn't run off. Whoever stayed behind would have ended up in the same boat.'

Pete thought about this. It actually made sense. 'But… why?'

'You really think a family like the Harrington's would want their reputations tarnished because of a scumbag Townie getting murdered?'

'You think it was Derby?'

Gary just shrugged. 'Could be. Not entirely sure.' He leaned close to Pete. 'But when we get out of here, we can go ask him ourselves, can't we?'

Pete looked at him worriedly, not liking the intensity in his eyes. He nodded nervously. 'I guess…'

A short siren sounded, signalling the end of outdoor time. The other patients began to shuffle towards the building. Gary stood up, wincing at a pain somewhere as he did so.

'You just be ready, Petey.' He said darkly, and then made his way back to the building.

Pete remained where he was for a moment, frowning thoughtfully. He glanced towards the gate, where Gregory was returning inside and the other man was climbing into the van. Gregory stuck a key card in the panel by the gate and it began to roll back.

'Kowalski.' Dan grunted from beside him. 'Inside. Now.'

Pete watched the pea green van roll slowly through the gate, and then followed Dan back towards the building.


	14. A Helping Hand

A/N: Sorry I didn't update yesterday! I had so much work to do. Thanks Alyse! :D I might get another update in today, just to make up for the neglect yesterday :p

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Thirteen:

A Helping Hand

Gary sat perched on the edge of his bed, fingers digging into his knees. They would leave marks, but at the moment he couldn't feel it. He couldn't feel much actually, which was a welcomed relief from the constant pain he had been feeling since that bastard orderly kicked ten piles of shit out of him. Something had happened to his left arm, as it had started twitching sporadically every now and then. He had a tight, sharp pain in the lower right side of his chest, which could quite possibly be a broken rib. If he removed his scrubs the dozen or so round, foot shaped bruises would be visible on his body. But none of that mattered. He just had to make sure that he would be fit enough to run when the time came.

It was going to hurt like hell, he knew that. Ideally he should wait until he had healed up completely, but that could take weeks. In a few weeks it might be too late.

The van wouldn't be back until next week, so that gave him six days to make sure the whole thing would go off without a hitch. Plenty of time to plan and ponder. But he also knew the orderlies would be keeping a close eye on him. Monroe had a pretty detailed report on him and he would be expecting some kind of revenge attack from Gary. He had to act normal, keep up his regular arrogant behaviour, but at the same time make sure he hadn't missed a trick.

One wrong move and it could potentially ruin everything.

Gary wasn't worried about _him_ messing up, it was Petey he had to watch. The stupid little Femme-boy might freak out, or potentially bottle it at the last minute and screw it up. It was unlikely, though. The look on his face when Gary had told him about Derby made it clear that he was just as determined to bust out of here as he was. But still… there was the off chance.

Gary was so deep in thought that he hadn't even realised the door of his cell had been opened until an annoyed, impatient voice barked his name. He looked around, unblinking, to see Theo standing there. Theo rarely made the effort to come into the cells these days; he normally sat on his fat ass in the office. He was bigger than the other orderlies, but he didn't care about the patients enough to use this to his advantage. He was slow and sluggish, but if it was necessary he could knock Gary down with a single blow.

'Theo,' Gary grinned, leaning back. 'To what do I owe the pleasure?'

Theo shifted uncomfortably and glanced back into the corridor. At that moment Gary knew that Theo wasn't there to hand out today's medication. He straightened up, eyes narrowing.

Theo moved inside, closing the door a little behind him. He didn't shut it completely – obviously if he did that he wouldn't be able to get out again. He stood there, grey eyes searching the room anxiously.

'I'm not an idiot.' He said, quietly. Theo was surprisingly soft-spoken when he wanted to be.

Gary smirked. 'Of course you're not.'

His eyes narrowed. 'I know what's going on with that little girly kid,' he continued, ignoring Gary's sarcasm. 'No one else is saying anything cos they're getting a bonus on their paycheque to ignore the fake observation reports. That kid doesn't belong here. You know that too, don't you?'

Gary cocked his head. 'Maybe.'

'I don't want to stand back and watch some innocent sane kid get dragged down with scumbags like you.' Theo said. 'He didn't kill that girl.'

'Petey couldn't kill himself.' Gary agreed.

'I saw you both in the garden this morning, watching the delivery van. I get what you're doing. You're going to try and bust out with that kid, aren't you? To get back at Monroe for screwing you over the way he did.'

Gary frowned. Sometimes he forgot that not all the orderlies were as dumb as Dan and Greg. He said nothing. There was no point in denying it, but at the same time it would be stupid to confirm it.

'I'm not trying to rat you out,' Theo told him, voice hushed. 'You're not the only one who has something again that son of a bitch shrink. I don't like how he uses that big queer in the end cell as a weapon. Did you know that he locked him in the shower room with Vinnie a few weeks ago? All Vinnie did was turn his cell upside down when Dan screwed up his meds. You're lucky all you got was a few bitch slaps, kid. That's all I'm saying.' He paused to look out of the door, checking the corridor.

'Why come to me though?' Gary asked curiously. 'Why not go to Petey?'

'The last thing I want is to have you running amok around the town, but it's obvious you're that kids only chance at getting out of here in one piece.'

Gary had to refrain from grinning widely. 'You're going to help us.'

Theo frowned. 'I'm only going to tell you this once, I'm not repeating it. As soon as I'm out of this cell you don't breathe a word of it to anyone, not even that girly kid, got that?'

Gary nodded. 'I'm all ears.'

Theo gritted his teeth. He hesitated, probably trying to decide if he was doing the right thing. 'I only got into this job to help people,' he said, deciding that he needed to condone his actions. 'I didn't sign up to work in a frigging concentration camp.'

Gary nodded. 'I get it.'

Theo relaxed slightly, then moved forward. 'From tomorrow Monroe has arranged for you to be put on benzodiazepines. I'm going to switch them, but you're going to have to do a spot of acting throughout the next week if you don't want him to realise what's going on.'

'The bastard was going to sedate me?' Gary scowled, furious.

'Yeah, I know,' Theo replied uninterestedly. 'Look, that's all I can do for you. If you mess this up or they realise you haven't been taking your meds, you're going to have to say you were tonguing them or something. You mess this up, kid, and I can't help you again.'

Gary smirked and nodded. 'Sounds fair.'

There was a clunking sound down the corridor. Theo straightened up and moved to the door. 'You rat me out, Smith, and I'll do ten times worse to you than Dan.'

Gary just grinned. Theo scowled darkly, before slipping out of the door and locking it. Gary sat for a few moments, grinning at the door. The laughter that had been brewing escaped his lips loudly.

This was going to be a breeze.


	15. Counting Down

A/N: Sooo sorry for making you wait for the next chapter. I've just been really busy lately and I got a nasty dose of major writers block. So it's been a while since I've written anyting. This chapter was mostly to get myself used to the story again so I hope it's okay. Hopefully this is the start of the daily updates again!! :D

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Fourteen:

Counting Down

Six days had passed. Pete was quite sure that six days never used to be so long. Inside this place time seemed to slow, hours stretched out into days. It was like the whole building was out of sync with the rest of the world. When he watched out of the barred window of his cell he sometimes caught a glimpse of the kids from Blue Skies hanging out behind the hospital. It almost seemed that they moved with lightening speed; like someone had left them on fast forward. He watched them joke around, laughing, fun fighting, talking at a hundred miles an hour. And all the while, inside Pete's cell, time stood still.

It didn't help that he had been waiting impatiently for these six days to pass by. Father Time liked to play that joke on people; make them wait longer than they needed to. And every lengthened second had frayed Pete's nerves that little bit more, making him twitchy and nervous. He was almost twitching as much as Fido, but obviously for very different reasons. Fido was crazy. Pete was… scared.

It was early morning now. Pete hadn't slept a wink, but he still lay on his side on the hard bed with one small hand slipped beneath his pillow and his eyes closed. Today was delivery day. The day. D-Day, even… if you wanted to be over dramatic. Pete had no doubt in his mind that Gary had been serious. The look on his face when he had shared his plan with Pete said that he wouldn't let anything get in the way of the pair of them escaping this place. Pete also believed that Gary was more than capable in pulling it off. Pete wasn't stressed because he was afraid of being caught, or that something may go wrong… No, Pete was stressed out because he hadn't been Gary for a week. And no one would tell him where he was.

Gary hadn't been taking showers with the other patients, nor had he been out with them during recreation time. His cell door seemed to be permanently closed, and for the first three days Pete had been beginning to think that Gary had been transferred or something, but then he had heard an orderly go into Gary's cell and say it was 'pill time'. Gary was in his cell all right, and he was probably doped up to the eyeballs.

Pete hoped that wasn't so. He couldn't bear another week like this one. If he had to go through another agonisingly long wait again he might just go completely insane. But he supposed if that happened, he wouldn't have to escape.

All he wanted was a little reassurance from Gary. He wanted to know what was happening. Being kept in the dark like this was excruciating. All he had to go by was the last thing that Gary had said to him.

'You just be ready, Petey.'

So he would make sure he was ready. After all, Gary may be many things, but he certainly wasn't a quitter. If he said they were getting out of here today, they would be getting out of here today. So Pete would be ready.

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Gary deserved an Oscar after his performance this week. It had been as boring as hell, and on more than one occasion he had been tempted just to blow his cover and have a freak out so he could be put in solitary for a change of scenery. Six days was a long time, especially when it was six days of sitting on his bed, eyes unfocused and slack jaw drooling. Six days of not responding to the infuriating taunts of the orderlies who came into his cell. Six days of constant, non-stop thinking…

Six days was a very long time, but Gary had managed it. He had kept at it because he had always known that the eventual bust out of Happy Volts was going to be more than worth it. Gary would have spent six whole days sharing a cell with Big Al if it meant that he would be a free guy afterwards.

His brilliant acting had paid off. The orderlies were buying that he was a doped up, cabbaged mess and had even put him in a wheelchair and walked him around the garden yesterday. That meant that today they would put him into the recreation room. He was going by more than just simple presumption, of course. Simply presuming that he would be allowed out of his cell would only result in disappointment. No, fortunately for Gary he had a man on the inside. Theo had promised that he would make sure that both Gary and Petey would be in the recreation room ten minutes before the delivery guy was due to arrive. Plenty of time to assert his apparent harmlessness. Then everything would be easy.

That's if Petey hadn't had some kind of breakdown in the last six days, or the stupid little bastard thought that Gary wasn't going to go through with it just because he hadn't seen him for so long. Petey was dumb like that. He wouldn't be able to see that it was all part of the plan, but then again Petey was just another dumb Bullworth kid. Gary tended to forget that from time to time. Femme-Boy didn't think the same way he did. Nobody thought the way he did.

The door began to unlock. Gary allowed his face to slacken and head to loll a little. He was slumped on his bed, back against the wall. Here it was, the moment he had been waiting six full days for. In an hour from now he and Petey were going to be out of here, leaving these idiots running around like headless chickens. Monroe would be furious.

Gary almost wanted to hang around just to see his face, but that would be stupid.

Dan walked inside, pushing a wheelchair. He looked to Gary, grin spreading on his face. It was obvious he took a lot of satisfaction in seeing him like that. Gary wanted nothing more than to jump up and smack him as hard as he could around the head, just to see how the moron would react. Not yet. He only had to put up with him for a little longer.

The repulsive orderly grinned. 'Hey there, you fucking brain dead creep.'

He rolled the chair to the side of the bed and stood and looked at Gary again. Gary remained still, head leaning a little to the left and eyes staring downwards. Dan chuckled before pulling the wheelchair around and sitting on it, resting his feet on the bed by Gary. The bed shifted with the extra weight, and Gary had to force himself not to react to it. If he was found out now, that would be it.

'Y'know,' Dan sighed, still grinning. 'I'm starting to like this new you. Can't say I'm too keen on the whole dribbling thing and having to feed you like a fucking baby but… well… it's a marked improvement. At least I don't have to look at that stupid sneer of yours. Although I would like another excuse to beat you senseless again. ' He stopped and laughed. 'You're already senseless now, ain't you? Another two weeks on those brain rotters and you probably won't be able to sit up unaided. But then again, bastards like you get what they deserve, don't they?'

Gary remained still and staring. He restrained himself from returning the comment.

Dan continued to look at him for a little longer. 'Well, Monroe thinks that it's safe enough to let out back in with the other fuckwits of this place.' He stood up and flexed his fingers. 'Maybe seeing you will set some kind of example.' Dan grabbed Gary's arms and pulled him up. Gary went limp, allowing the big orderly to lift him under his arms and sit him down in the wheelchair. Dan stepped back, brushing his hands off, and smirked down at Gary. 'Not to mention that I can have a little fun with you.'

Gary continued to stare downwards. Dan laughed, then moved behind the wheelchair and pushed him out, whistling as he did so. Gary didn't move his head, but the corner of his mouth curled up into a smirk.

Not long now.


	16. Coming Together

A/N: Wow thanks for the reviews everyone! I thought everyone might have just forgotten about this story actually xD Well your brilliant-ness is going to keep me updating! I promise I won't abandon this again :D

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Fifteen:

Coming Together

Pete couldn't sit still. He wanted too, because he knew his nervous fidgety behavior would only attract unwanted attention from the orderlies, but he just couldn't get his foot to stop bouncing. He couldn't tame his writhing hands. In a normal social situation like, let's say, sitting in a classroom or the principal's office, his strange behavior would be picked up on straight away. People would know he was worrying about something. But in here, where Fido was lying on his belly at Pete's and feet muttering about bugs in the air conditioning, Pete's tense posture probably would go by unnoticed.

Theo and Greg were the only two orderlies in the recreation room at the moment. Greg was sitting on one of the fold up chairs, feet up on the couch while he read the newspaper. He completely ignored Vinnie, who was staring with rapt fascination at his shoes. Theo was in the security office, watching a small portable TV in the corner. But every now and then he looked up – almost always at Pete. This didn't do much to settle Pete's nerves.

Butterflies still dive bombed nauseatingly in his stomach, but it wasn't due to terror anymore. At least not completely. Pete was actually a little excited. Gary had to come out today, and then everything would unfold. It would be some grand, intricate event that he had spent the whole week planning and perfecting. It would go off without a hitch, and an hour from now Pete would be out of here. He wouldn't be a mental patient anymore. He would be a free man…

Or rather, he would be a man on the run.

Pete frowned vaguely, putting his thumb to his lips and chewing on it distractedly. They weren't just going to be forgotten about as soon as they got out of here. They would have to hide, wear disguises, skulk around in the shadows to avoid being spotted; just like in the movies. He would be on the run with Gary. That wouldn't really look good for his innocence, would it? What would his parents think? If he went to them would they hide him? Or would they call the police?

Pete shook his head. His parents would never turn him in. They loved him. If he turned up at home they would take him in with open arms. They would never betray him like that. Not like his supposed friends.

What would Jimmy make of it all? Jimmy had always been pretty understanding of Pete, but he had a feeling that if he showed up with Gary in tow then Jimmy wouldn't be particularly understanding anymore. But perhaps if Pete convinced him that Gary had changed (even though he hadn't), then the three of them could go and confront the Preppies together? With Jimmy and Gary with him, Pete didn't fear those inbred rich kids one bit.

He was thinking too far ahead. They had to get out of this hellhole first. And Pete wasn't going anywhere without Gary.

Approaching footsteps make Pete's head snap up quickly, and in the sudden movement he managed to bite his thumb. He watched anxiously as Dan unlocked the gate. All the other patients were already out here, so if he was bringing someone out it would have to be…

Pete's face dropped as Dan pushed the wheelchair into the room. His bouncing knee and trembling hands were now completely still, and the throb of his bitten thumb suddenly felt completely numb – as did every other part of him. Gary was in the wheelchair, eyes blank and glassy. His head lolled a little to the left, hands lying limply in his lap. He was out of it. He was a vegetable.

Dan pushed the wheelchair across the room, whistling an irritatingly cheerful tune, and abandoned Gary by the table in the corner with two other brainless veggies. Brushing his hands together, Dan headed across to Greg, chased Vinnie away, and dropped down on the couch. A moment later they were making thin conversation about something on the front page of the newspaper. But Pete missed all that. His wide, tired eyes were fixed firmly on Gary.

What had they done to him? Was he drugged up? Had he spent the whole week in the Shock Shop or something? Pete didn't know whether the Shock Shop was real or not; Gary might have just made it up to frighten him. Was that his punishment for attacking Monroe? The disappointment was heavy in Pete. Gary had been his only chance of escaping this place, but now it looked like he couldn't even wipe the drool from his bottom lip.

Pete stood up and slowly moved to the table. No one registered him moving. Fido muttered something before crawling away to take sanctuary behind the TV. Pulling a seat to the side of Gary's wheelchair, Pete tentatively sat down. He regarded Gary's loose, expressionless face and tilted his head a little. Could this just be part of Gary's scheme? It was possible. Gary was as crazy as anyone else in Happy Volts, but the difference was that he always stayed calm and deliberate. He wasn't thoughtless and reckless like the others. Gary would plan and consider, and use every ounce of his intelligence to get what he wanted. And these qualities, if that's what you could call them, made Gary one of the most dangerous people that Pete had ever come across. But dangerous or not, Pete needed him.

'Gary?' he said quietly. 'Can you hear me?'

Gary made no indication that he did. Pete shuffled forward a little, feeling nervous about getting so close to him. He glanced quickly to the other orderlies. Dan and Greg weren't paying the slightest bit of attention, but Pete looked to Theo just as the big orderly looked away. If Gary was just faking it, he wasn't going to blow his cover just to let Pete in on it.

'If you're faking,' Pete whispered. 'Just blink. Or look at me. Anything.'

Gary's eyes didn't move. He stared at the table. He looked completely gone; there was no way anyone could fake this kind of detachment. Pete leaned back in his chair, breathing heavily.

'Oh man…' he mumbled. 'They found you out, didn't they? Figured out what you were going to do and doped you up so you wouldn't cause any trouble. Oh man… I'm sorry Gary. This is all my fault. None of this would have happened if I'd just run when Jimmy told me to.' Pete rubbed his face with both hands. 'And now look at you. Fair enough you were only trying to get back at Monroe, but you were gonna help me get out of here. If it wasn't for me you'd still be you… Dan wouldn't have kicked your ass so badly…' He trailed off, shaking his head.

Pete was quite surprised at how bad he felt. Gary had betrayed him. He had helped the doctors convince Pete's parents that he was a killer. He had been mean, aggressive, abusive… but no one deserved this. Despite being a sadistic psychopath, Gary had had an incredible mind, and now it was slowly being strangled by the poison they were pumping him with. And it was all because of Pete.

There was a sudden ground shaking boom that made Pete and half the recreation room cry out in surprise. The orderlies were on their feet in a flash, and seconds the sprinklers burst into life, showering icy cold water down on everyone in the room.

Fido instantly started bellowing. 'They're here!' he screamed, flailing his skinny arms in the air. 'I told you! Didn't I? I told you they were coming!'

Vinnie flipped. He pushed the TV over with an ear-piercing war cry and it exploded into sparks on the floor. Two other patients followed his lead and began to pull the books off the shelf, tossing them across the room. Big Al just sat on his seat, expression one of mild bemusement, and looked up as the water from the sprinklers soaked him. The vegetables didn't even react.

'What the hell was that?' Dan yelled, running for the gate.

Greg tried to answer, but he was suddenly put out of action as Vinnie picked up one of the folding chairs and whacked him square in the face. Dan spun around just as the chair came down on the top of his head. He ducked, but the chair still hit him hard. He hit the floor and lay there, conscious but startled. But before he could regain his composure, Vinnie brought the chair down again. Inside the security booth, Theo was frantically shouting into a phone.

Pete blinked in confusion, cold water running down his nose and soaking his clothes. The chaos around him didn't seem real. It had happened so quickly none of it had had a chance to sink in. It still hadn't come together when Gary sprung forward, one cold, wet hand clamping firmly around his wrist. Unable to restrain himself, Pete squealed.

Gary laughed gleefully, eyes suddenly full of life. The glassy look they had harbored moments ago was now long gone. His grin was impossibly huge, stretching from ear to ear. He hopped up and dragged Pete across the soaked recreation room towards the two unconscious orderlies. Vinnie had abandoned Dan and was now flipping various tables, banging his chest and screaming like a chimp. Gary stooped beside Dan and snatched his keys from his belt.

'G…Gary…' Pete heard himself saying, but he wasn't aware he had anything to say. The cold water had soaked him right through and he was beginning to shiver.

Gary hopped back up, turning to Pete with that huge grin. 'Oh man,' he chuckled, swinging the keys from his middle finger. 'You should have seen your face.'

Pete only blinked at him. Gary grabbed his arm again and dragged him through the doors that led into the abandoned C-Block. Through the doors he used the keys to unlock the old rusted gate. Pete stood dumbly, listening to the chaos back in the recreation room and wondering if any of that had just happened.

'Come on then, Femme-Boy,' Gary grinned, shoving the gate open. 'Don't just stare at me like I just rejected your marriage proposal. We've got rich kids to be ruining.'

Pete ran through the gate and up the dark, messed up corridor. Behind him, Gary was laughing wildly. It took him a moment to actually realise, but Pete was grinning too.


	17. Free Ride

Sixteen:

Free Ride

'There she is.' Gary breathed. His hand squeezed Petey's thin shoulder compulsively. He hadn't even realised he was doing it until Petey squirmed uncomfortably. 'You see her, Petey? That's the most beautiful thing you'll ever see in your short, dumb life.'

They had slipped out of the fire exit through the back of the building, immediately coming out only meters from the open gate. The only hold up had been when they had passed through the morgue and Petey had threatened to have a freak out over it. He couldn't believe Happy Volts would have its own morgue. Gary didn't understand the problem. Where the hell else were they supposed to put all those crazy corpses?

But it was unimportant, and all of that was soon forgotten when the two of them got outside. The air was fresh and cool, and their soaked clothing and wet skin from the sprinklers made them sensitive to the cold. Petey was shivering already. Gary just found it invigorating. They were crouched around the corner of the building, concealed by the many unruly shrubs around them, and closely watching Owen Mansfield and his pea green van.

'What now?' Petey asked, voice strained. Gary realised he was holding his breath. The little twerp was probably ready to have a heard attack with all the excitement.

'We get in the van of course.' Gary replied.

'Yeah but… he'll see us.'

Gary chuckled. 'What's wrong? Don't you have any faith in me anymore, Petey? I know what I'm doing.'

Petey glanced around nervously, checking the rest of the garden. There wasn't a soul around, but it didn't necessarily mean there was no one around to see them. 'Are you sure this is a good idea, Gary? I mean… if they catch us they might transfer us to somewhere even worse. And if my parents find out they'll think… Ow!'

Gary silenced him with a sharp punch in his upper arm. 'Quit being such a fairy, Femme-Boy. I know it's hard, but just try and embrace a little bit of your inner manliness. I'm sure you've still got some dregs of it lying around somewhere in your girly little body.'

Petey rubbed his arm, frowning. 'You don't have to hit me.'

'Of course I do.' Gary replied, surveying the area like a skilled hunter. 'You were being a wuss.'

Petey grumbled something irritably, but obediently fell silent. Gary checked the area once more, and then tightly grabbed Petey's wrist. 'C'mon.' he whispered, and hauled Petey up out of the foliage.

Gary moved quickly across the garden. He kept his knees bent and his head down, eyes fixed firmly on the pea green van. Behind him Petey was stumbling and bumbling along, but Gary hadn't expected anything less. Owen Mansfield was still in the security box by the gate, probably signing out. There were no orderlies out here because all of them were back inside of the building warring against the psychotic inmates. Whoever had been on outside duty had obviously been dumb enough to trust the delivery guy in closing and locking the gate up behind him.

Gary had to refrain from giggling gleefully. He didn't think this could have gone any better.

The two of them arrived at the van and Gary immediately shoved Petey down onto the ground. Petey opened his mouth to argue, but then realised that Gary wanted him to go under the van. After a split second of hesitation, he did what he was meant to. Gary took one last glance around before following suit.

'What now?' Petey whispered.

Gary slapped him around his head and put a finger to his lips. Petey frowned sulkily but took the hint. Gary continued to frown at him though, slightly irritated by his naive behavior. Geez, he was starting to think Petey had never bust out of anywhere. But then again it was Petey. He probably hadn't even snuck out of his bedroom to get a midnight snack before.

Gary pulled himself along the tarmac beneath the van until he could see the security box. As he had expected, Owen was in there. He appeared to have his back to the van. A visitor form took about two and a half minutes to fill out. Gary estimated that they had about one minute to get inside the back of the van unnoticed. Sounded easy in theory.

He turned to Petey, pointing towards the back end of the van. The stupid moron just blinked back at him dumbly, and Gary had to restrain himself from hitting him a third time. Instead he just pointed again, this time with more vigor. Petey got the hint and started moving. Only when Gary looked around again he sat that Owen had moved, and was now facing the van. Gary reached out and grabbed Petey's collar before he blew everything.

Damn, Gary thought irritably. There was no way they would be able to get in unnoticed now. The only other thing they could do was wait until Owen was inside the van, then just hope that they could get out from underneath the van before he reversed out of the gates. It didn't sound like it would be a problem, but Owen drove like a maniac. He normally swung the van out at top speed. Both Gary and Petey would be nothing but bloody smears on the road if they didn't get out of the way before he started the engine.

Gary became aware of Petey staring at him. He looked around and realised that he was waiting for instructions. He couldn't count on Petey to be any help. Petey would probably only manage to screw it up anyway. Gary might be able to move quick enough to get in the van unnoticed, but there was no way Petey would be able to. Maybe he should just leave Petey behind? Monroe would be pissed off enough knowing that Gary had got out. Busting Petey out would just be an extra sword in the side for the sleazy doctor. Just a bonus, and bonuses weren't really the important parts…

But then, just as Gary was about to make a move, a phone began to ring. Gary and Petey froze, looking towards the security booth. Gary's initial panicked reaction was that it was the orderlies. They had noticed he and Petey were missing and they wanted Owen to keep the gate shut.

Okay, okay, Gary told himself. It's not a problem. All we have to do is put Owen out of action, open the gates ourselves and run into the tunnels. A bit messier than I'd anticipated, but…

The ringing stopped. 'Hello?' Owen said, sounding distracted and bored. Suddenly his voice lit up. 'Oh hey, baby! Oh yeah I'm nearly finished up here. Just got one of these stupid forms to fill in. Apparently all the nut jobs are having some kind of revolution in there, so Henry has left me to get out on my own.'

Gary looked to Petey questioningly. Petey mimed a phone with his thumb and pinky and mouthed, 'Cell phone.'

Gary nodded in realisation. Okay, so this could work to their advantage. He watched as Owen turned away again, now chattering away about table reservations. It was now or never. Gary belly crawled to the back of the van, careful to keep his eye on Owen. Petey followed closely, moving with surprising stealth.

'I don't know what's happened,' Owen was telling the caller on his phone. 'There was just this big freakin' bang. The psychos probably used their meds to make a bomb or something. God knows what's in them, y'know? Anyway I doubt it's anything to worry about.' He paused, listening to the other person, and then laughed. 'I don't think so, baby.' He laughed again. 'You forget that they're completely round the twist. You think they're capable of putting together some elaborate escape attempt?'

Gary smirked at this and crawled out from underneath the van. He pulled Petey up beside him, not taking care to be gentle. Petey stumbled a little but managed to keep his balance. Gary was overcome with glee when he saw that one of the back doors was slightly open. That meant he didn't have to worry about trying to be quiet in unlocking it. He opened the door while watching Owen, then waved Petey to go inside. Petey did so quickly and silently, reminding Gary of a little monkey. With a smirk he decided to add Monkey-Boy to the list of nicknames for Petey.

He cast one last grin at Happy Volts, satisfied that everything had gone to plan, before pulling himself into the back of the van.

Yup, couldn't have gone better.


	18. Needs

A/N: The result of the poll on my page (should the OC of this story be a guy or a girl) came out in the favour of the guy, hence Owen being the van driver. 5 people wanted a guy, 3 wanted a girl and 1 wanted a monkey... I would have liked to use a monkey, but it might have been a bit restricting in terms of dialog xD Thanks for the reviews everyone, as usual. Your greatness only makes me update faster and makes me uber happy :D

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Seventeen:

Needs

Four weeks.

Four long, painful weeks.

Tonight had to be the night when she put out. It just had to be. Why was it only the really perfect girls; the girls who had the potential to be the one, had to be as frigid as a flash-frozen nun? Oh yeah you could go out with pretty girls who would put out on the first date, but they wouldn't be able to hold a conversation for very long afterwards. You could get your paws on a girl who was smarter than Albert Einstein and would do the craziest shit in the bedroom but she would still always share that faint resemblance to Boy George. No, it was only the really special ones who didn't see the rush, or felt the need to wait so it would mean more when it finally came around.

Well frankly, Owen thought it was a load of crap. If Dana didn't get down off her celibate high horse soon, then maybe their relationship wasn't as great as he thought it was.

Owen had never given a girl four weeks before. Usually he got impatient after two. He had a huge queue of girls, loose girls, who would love to take Dana's place. Okay, so maybe it wasn't because he was a good catch (although he was pretty damn good looking, even if he did so himself), but he did have a pretty healthy trust fund all ready for him when he turned twenty one. He could have pretty much anyone he wanted… so why the hell was he strung up over one particular chick?

Dana was pretty special, he knew that within minutes of meeting her. She was definitely a candidate to be 'the one'. Owen should know, he had discovered a few. She was beautiful, funny, witty, smart…

So why did she have to ruin it by smacking his hands away when he tried to push a make out session along to third base. Jesus, he was twenty years old! She was acting like a frigging fifteen year old! Four weeks had to be a long enough wait. If she still acted like a damn convent dweller, he would kick her to the curb. He would be a bit sad to see her go of course, but at the end of the day a guy has needs.

Owen swung his van around the corner, heading up to his house in Bullworth Vale. Usually he would take the van back to the market and then grab a lift home, but today he had too much to do. He had to go into town to get together the essentials for tonight; wine, steak, candles, condoms… Dana would be around at about six. That gave him plenty of time to convert his bedroom. And if she blew him out this time…

Muttering irritably about it being a month since he had had sex, Owen approached his small but elaborate house. His dad had bought it for him of course, but Owen was working to pay him back. He was privileged, but he still liked to make his way with hard work. Working for the company and delivering the older fruit to the nut house was the only thing he could really be bothered to do. It wasn't as if those brain dead freaks could tell the difference between fresh fruit and fruit that had been left in the sun a little too long. Half of them were damn murderers and rapists anyway. They should count their lucky stars that soft fruit was all they got. If it was up to Owen they would all be given apples with razor blades in them.

As he turned into his driveway, Owen wondered what had happened at Happy Volts. Henry, the guy who had let him in that day, had suddenly just taken off, yelling at Owen to make sure he locked the gates up tight behind him. Yelling and banging came from inside the building and it sounded like there was a war going on in there. Last thing he needed was for it to spill out to where he was, so Owen just hopped in his van and got the hell out of there. He wasn't prepared to get ambushed by a bunch of drooling, moaning psychos.

Owen hopped out of the van, leaving the engine idling as he wandered over to his garage to open it up. His thoughts soon went back to Dana and her thick, luxurious, curly auburn hair, her curvy waist and those tight jeans she always wore. He shuddered a little as he rolled the garage door up. Damn she was a keeper. Maybe he could hold out another week or so if she still wasn't comfortable with it…

Owen drove the van into his garage and finally killed the engine, thoughts now on the ice cold beers that were sitting in his fridge. It wasn't like he had done any hard work today, but he still had a thirst. He closed the garage door, grabbed his keys, and headed for the side door that led into his kitchen.

Only as soon as he touched the handle, something made him stop. He stood and listened, ears pricked up. He was sure he had heard something. A shuffle… maybe a little voice. Owen looked around, eyebrows drawn together. The garage was dark and empty. The van sat silently. He listened again, put it down to his imagination, and then returned his attentions to the beer waiting for him.

Thump.

Owen's head snapped around and he looked at the van suspiciously. There was definitely something in the back of the van. He sighed heavily. Great. Now he was going to have to spend the next God knows how long trying to chase a possum out of his van. It happened from time to time; he left the back of the van open to unload some of the crates and while his back was turned something would crawl inside. He couldn't figure out how the hell they managed to get in to the van. It was easily about four feet off the ground. Could possums jump like that?

Annoyed that he suddenly had more work, Owen stalked to the back of the van. It was quiet now, but he wasn't going to fall for that. If it had eaten everything he was going to smoosh its head under his boot. Then the stupid animal would realise what a stupid mistake it had been to get in his van. Owen hauled the doors open. His annoyed expression switched to one of bemusement. Then as the sight registered, it flipped to one of fear. But by then it was too late to do anything about it.

The bigger of the two soaked, scrub wearing guys jumped out at him. Owen was too stunned to have a decent reaction to it, so before he was fully aware of what was happening he was slamming into the garage door. The impact winded him. He wheezed, spluttered, then noticed the long rusty nail that was pointed in his face.

'Gary!' a meek, nervous voice cried out. 'What are you doing?'

'Hey there, Owen,' the wild eyed psycho grinned, holding the nail unnervingly close to the piece of fleshy skin beneath Owen's left eyeball. 'How'd the delivery go today?'

The smaller one hopped out of the van. Owen managed to get a quick look at him. How the hell did two of those crazy people manage to get in his van? He had been standing right next to it! He would have seen them? So how the fu-

'Aren't you going to invite us in?' those dark, frightening eyes enquired. 'It's rude to leave guests outside.'

The smaller one was standing back, face pale, eyes wide and hands writhing. 'Gary, what are you doing?' he asked again. 'Let him go, man.'

'Shut the hell up, Femme-Boy.' The psycho hissed, hand jerking with the ferocity of his voice. Owen felt the nail press against his skin and he whimpered. The psycho just grinned. 'Come on then, Owen. Be a pal and show us in, will you?'

Not seeing any other choice, Owen managed to squeak in agreement. The psycho's grin widened even more.

'There's a good boy.' He smirked.


	19. Second Thoughts

Eighteen:

Second Thoughts

'Petey, get the frigging door already. What the hell is wrong with you?'

Pete couldn't move. His feet were rooted to the floor, eyes fixed on the poor kid that Gary had in a headlock. He was only young, maybe about Gary's age, with floppy blonde hair and wide, petrified green eyes. He wasn't any bigger than Gary, but he looked stronger than him. If he wanted to he probably could take both of them on, but the rusty nail that hovered above his iris obviously deterred any thoughts of trying to overpower his attacker. Pete felt sick just looking at him.

'Come on, Petey.' Gary growled, looking increasingly impatient. 'Get your ass over here and open this door.'

Pete blinked. 'Not until you let him go.' He hear himself saying, voice surprisingly calm.

Gary's eyebrows rose. 'What? Now why on Earth would I do a thing like that? He's a hostage!' He turned a snaky grin on Owen. 'Have you ever been a hostage, Owen?'

'N…n-n-no…' Owen stammered, still staring at the nail.

Gary looked back up to Pete and grinned, but his eyes were furious. 'See? It's an experience for us all.'

'I didn't agree to this,' Pete said nervously, shaking his head. 'I don't want anyone to get hurt, Gary. That's not why I left with you. You said we were going to prove that I'm innocent, not take people hostage! Who's going to believe that I didn't kill Zoe if we've got some guy held at… at nail point!'

Gary sighed. 'C'mon, Femme-Boy. Did you think we were going to hop out of the van and slip into the shadows? We need a change of clothes. We need money. Did you think we were just conveniently going to find them lying around in back alleys?' He shook his head. 'Sounds like you've been watching too many movies to me.'

Pete stood his ground. 'I'm not getting the door until you let him go.'

Gary's eyes briefly narrowed. Pete knew that he had never liked being disagreed with; disagreement was practically what kicked off the whole vendetta against Jimmy. As soon as Jimmy had insisted that he didn't want to work with Gary to take over the school, Gary had flew off the handle. He liked to be right, and he liked to be followed. He didn't appreciate defiance, and up until now Pete had done everything he said.

'L-look!' Owen stammered, face now the colour of ashes. 'Just take what you want, okay? I'll not tell anyone about you guys. I have plenty of money and… and you can take what you want from the closet! Just… just please get that frigging nail away from my eye!'

'Stop embarrassing yourself, Owen,' Gary told him, still holding a steely gaze on Pete. 'I know as soon as I let go of you then you're going to turn around with those keys you've got hidden in your left hand and jam the biggest one into my jugular.'

Pete frowned and looked down at Owen's hand. Sure enough there was a pointed silver key poking out between his knuckles. Owen seemed to deflate and released a small whimpering sound.

'I think it would be better for everyone if you just dropped them, don't you?' Gary suggested.

Owen dropped the keys. They landed on the dirty garage floor with a clunk. Pete stared at them, wondering how the hell Gary had known that. Had it just been a lucky bluff? Gary was so on the ball that it was scary. He could anticipate everything.

'Your turn, Femme-Boy,' Gary said, eyes hard. 'You going to be a good puppy and get the door?'

Pete lifted his chin. 'No, Gary. I'm not doing it like this.'

Gary sighed. 'You know what? I wanted to at least get inside the house before it got violent. But, I guess if you're not going to open the door then I'm just going to have to bump off good old Owen here so he doesn't try and split.' Gary got a firmer grip on the nail and smiled at Owen. 'I'll try to make it as quick as possible, buddy. Although it'll still probably be real messy considering I only have a rusty nail…'

Owen's eyes bulged as the nail moved closer. 'Just open the fucking door!' he screeched at Pete.

Pete jumped, shocked by Owen's reaction. He felt anger stirring inside him, realizing that Gary had probably planned that since before they had gotten out of the van. He knew Pete wouldn't agree to hostage taking, and a little violent persuasion always helped to bring people around to his way of thinking. Perhaps Gary had no intention of hurting anyone, but Pete didn't want to test him. Owen certainly didn't want him to test him. How the hell did he know everything? How could he predict how Pete was going to react?

'Fine.' Pete muttered, stalking towards the door. He picked the keys up on his way, trying his best not to look at the terrified man held firmly in Gary's grip.

'Finally.' Gary sighed. 'Man, Petey, you've picked the wrong time to grow some balls.'

Pete fumbled with the keys for a moment before finally managing to unlock the door. He glanced back to Gary warily. Gary just nodded for him to head inside. Pete did as he was told, stepping into a smooth, pristine kitchen. It looked like it was from another world after the couple of weeks he had spent in Happy Volts. The surfaces were clean, the knives and forks on the drying rack weren't made from plastic, fresh fruit sat in the fruit bowl, so perfect they didn't even look real.

'Get the windows.' Gary ordered.

Pete looked around. 'Huh?'

'The blinds, Petey. Close the damn blinds. Are you in this with me or not? I'm starting to think I should have left you behind.'

Pete just watched as Gary pulled out one of the chairs from the breakfast table and sat Owen down on it. He backed up, careful not to take his eyes off the twitchy, frightened hostage, and quickly switched the rusty nail for a large kitchen knife that had been left on the work surface.

'Oh man,' Pete moaned. 'Gary, put that away. If we have to do this then let's do it without waving around knives and stuff, okay?'

Gary shot him a brief glare. 'I told you to get the windows.'

Pete hesitated, wanting to argue. He didn't like where this was going. During the escape he had been so excited he hadn't thought about what they were going to do when they left. It hadn't fully occurred to him that they would technically be on the run, which meant they would have to steal and intimidate and hide… He should have expected this.

For a split second, he wished he was still back in Happy Volts.

'Look,' Owen said, sounding a little calmer than he had done – he was still rubbing the flats of his hands on his knees compulsively. 'You guys obviously have a lot to be doing, y'know. I get that. You've been locked up for God knows how long, I get that. There's people you want to see, stuff like that, so standing around in my kitchen and arguing is just…' He rubbed his head nervously and shrugged his shoulders. 'There's gear upstairs. Take what you want. And… and there's money in the china dog in the front room. Take it all, I don't care.'

'Don't worry, we will.' Gary replied. He began to rummage through the drawers, carelessly tossing uninteresting pieces of junk aside and leaving them open when he couldn't find what he was looking for. 'Hey, Owen. You got any tape?'

Owen blinked. 'Tape?'

Pete moved to the windows and pulled the blinds shut. Gary was in his element. There would be no reasoning with him. Arguing with him could just result in being skewered on the end of that giant kitchen knife in his hand. He decided just to keep his mouth shut for now. Unless he had to speak up, of course.

'You know,' Gary shrugged, glancing at a piece of paper he had pulled from one of the drawers. 'Tape? The sticky stuff. Not the kind of sticky stuff Petey's thinking of.'

Pete scowled but remained out of the way.

'Uh… I uh…' Owen paused, frowning. 'I don't know…'

'You don't know if you have any tape?' Gary laughed. 'Come on, Owen. You're a guy. All guys know where the tape is. What do you do if there's a leaky pipe?'

Owen spluttered and shook his head. 'I… I can't think… Uh…'

Gary approached him, pushing his finger on the tip of the knife. 'I don't have to use this to jog your memory, do I?'

'Gary…' Pete started.

'Above the sink!' Owen blurted suddenly. 'Yeah… yeah it's in the plastic tub. It's in there, I'm sure.'

Gary nodded. 'Good man. You heard him, Petey.'

Pete sighed and rolled his eyes. 'Why don't you get it yourself?' he muttered, stubbornly – but he still went to the cupboard above the sink and pulled out a plastic tub. Sure enough there were two rolls of tape; one a flimsy clear tape and the other a roll of thick, shiny masking tape. Gary grinned and snatched up the masking tape.

'That's not necessary.' Owen said warily. 'Really.'

Gary just shrugged and stretched out the tape. 'Can't blame me for being cautious.' He grinned. 'After all, I am notoriously paranoid.'

Pete winced as Gary loudly stretched the tape out, ready to bind Owen to the chair. This wasn't how he had planned it. But he was out, and that was all he had wanted. Who said he even had to stick with Gary? If he found Jimmy and explained everything…

Pete made his mind up there and then. At the right time, he would split.


	20. To New Depths

A/N: I just want to quickly give a MASSIVE thanks to everyone reviewing this story. I'm really surprised that so many people like it! It's going to start getting a bit more action packed now, so I hope you still enjoy it just as much :D

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Nineteen:

To New Depths

Gary couldn't remember the last time he had had this much fun. Making other people's lives miserable had always thrilled him, and so far he had thought torturing idiots like Fido had been as fun as it got. But the look of complete terror in Owen Mansfield's pretty-boy eyes and the petrified cold sweat that clung to his brow made Gary feel warm inside. More than a little warm inside, actually. It felt like there was a fire in his belly. It took all his energy and willpower not to laugh hysterically.

Although Petey was bringing him down. He hadn't expected Femme-Boy to scoop up a kitchen knife and hop to his side, but he hadn't expected him to be so _whiney_. They were practically fugitives now; there was no time for whining and being considerate of others. Didn't he understand that if they let Owen go he would go straight to the cops? A race with the cops would be exciting, but not this soon. Maybe a little later.

'Gary…' Petey said tentatively, still lingering by the window. 'Can we just get this stuff and get out of here? He's not going anywhere.'

Gary looked towards Owen, still fiddling with the now empty roll of tape. The fruity fruit seller was completely covered in shiny silver tape; only his shoulders, head and feet were visible. His face was sweating; his hair clinging to his head. Gary felt a giggle rising and had to look away before he burst into hysterics.

'Sure, Petey, sure.' He hopped down from the counter where he had been perched and tossed the empty roll over his shoulder. It bounced off Owen and he whimpered a little in response to it. 'Just… maybe I'll have a little snack first. It's been a long time since I've had decent food you know.' He pulled open the refrigerator and peered inside. He grimaced and turned around to look at Owen. 'You call this food? It's like a frigging rabbit hutch in here.'

Owen spluttered something about trying to be healthy, but Gary wasn't interested in what he had to say.

'Well I guess we'll just have to hold on a little longer, Femme-Boy.' He sighed, slamming the refrigerator shut again. 'Once we're in our ninja suits we'll go get pizza.'

Petey shifted from foot to foot, glancing warily at the bound guy on the dining chair. Gary sighed heavily, knowing what he was thinking.

'I'll untie him before we go, don't worry.' He assured him, waving his hands. 'You can reassure your morals, Petey.' He glanced back to Owen and winked. 'Although that's if he plays nice.'

Owen just blinked. Gary chuckled and then grabbed Petey's arm. Still holding the huge kitchen knife (which felt nicely comfortable in his hand), he pulled the smaller boy to the door, still staring at their hostage.

'You be good, Owen. And keep in mind that I have _really_ good hearing.'

Owen just whimpered again, looking like he was about to cry. Gary shook his head, wrapping his arm tighter around Petey's slim shoulders. Petey was rigid, moving stiffly. He knew the little twerp had his eyes fixed on the knife. He was probably having a panic, thinking that Gary might snap and stab him or something. Surely he would know that if Gary wanted him dead he would have done it while they were in the back of the fruit van.

'It makes me laugh,' Gary sniggered as he led the smaller boy towards the stairs. 'You see guys like Owen who are all muscular and healthy and won't even jack off in case they pull a muscle, and they're reduced to whimpering wrecks when two loonies like us hop out of the van with something sharp.'

'Well he probably doesn't want to be _stabbed_ to death.' Petey frowned.

'No one wants to be stabbed to death, Petey.' Gary agreed. 'And he won't. Worst he'll get is a scratch. And that's only if he realizes that he could probably take the two of us and I have to assert my dominance or some nonsense like that.'

Petey wriggled against him, trying to break out from his hold. 'Let's just get this stuff and get out of here, Gary. We can go find Derby and try and figure out what happened…'

Gary just laughed. 'Calm down, Femme-Boy. Hold your unicorns. We'll get around to that.'

They reached the landing and Gary immediately turned left, wanting to look like he knew exactly where he was going but really having no clue. The trick was to make it _look_ like you knew what you were doing. With enough confidence, you could fool any little twerp like Femme-Boy. Fortunately, the room on the left was the bedroom.

'Go on then, Petey. Go see if you can find yourself a nice new frock.'

Petey just frowned with that sulky, whiny little pout and approached the closet. He opened the doors, reached in blindly, and pulled out a pair of jeans and a white t-shirt with light blue stripes over the shoulders. 'These will do.' He said.

Gary snorted, moving to the closet. 'You really are dumb, aren't you.' He rummaged around until he found what he was looking for. He snatched the white t-shirt from Petey and gave him a dark grey hooded jumper instead. 'You think just because you're not in pissy scrubs that no one will recognise you?' He reached up to the top shelf and picked up a burgundy baseball cap. 'There. Now get them on.'

Petey opened his mouth to speak, but Gary held a finger up to silence him. Petey quickly closed his mouth, but it was probably because it was the hand that held the knife.

'No bitching,' Gary warned. 'Get them on, and then we'll go. Okay?' Petey nodded and went to leave the room. 'Jesus, man, I've seen you shower naked. Just get changed already.'

Gary ignored Petey's discomfort with that statement and went around looking for his own clothes. Owen was about the same size as Gary, but Petey would probably have to roll up his jeans and push up his sleeves. Too bad for him. Gary pulled out a black hooded jacket, a red t-shirt and a pair of dark khaki cargo pants. He changed quickly, not embarrassed by nakedness the way Petey was, and then balled his still damp scrubs and tucked them under his arm.

'Perfect fit.' Gary grinned, turning around to Petey.

Petey, however, wasn't as happy. The jeans were loose around his waist and he had to hold them up. His hands were lost beneath the sleeves of the sweater and the cap almost covered his eyes. Gary laughed at the sight of him.

'Looks like you're dressing up in daddy's clothes,' he chuckled. 'Makes a change from mom's clothes, huh?'

'Shut up, Gary.' Petey muttered. He stalked towards the closet and raked around for a belt. Gary reached above him and took a black baseball cap from the top shelf.

Then a sound made them both freeze.

It was the sound of the front door unlocking.

The two fugitives looked at each other, and for the first time Gary felt a pang of fear. His hand squeezed the knife tightly. Petey must have saw something in his eyes because he slowly shook his head.

'Hey, Owen!' a young female voice called. 'I hope you don't mind me just dropping in like this! You did give me a key so I figured that you wouldn't…'

'_Dana_!' Owen's voice bounced around the house, making Gary's ears ring. '_Get out of here! Run! Call the cops_!'

Gary immediately pushed away from the closet and raced out of the bedroom door. Petey followed closely, muttering something under his breath. Gary ignored him and hurried down the stairs. He looked around to see a girl standing in the hallway, staring into the kitchen where her fuck-buddy was currently taped to a dining chair. She turned her head and looked up at Gary in bewilderment.

'_Dana_!' Owen yelled again, his voice accompanied by the scraping of his chair on the tiled kitchen floor. '_Run_!'

Her pretty little mouth formed an _o_ and she began to turn for the door, but her shock had paralysed her for a little too long. Gary put one strong hand on the banister and hopped over it, landing between her and the front door. She stopped and stared at him with impossibly huge eyes, her cheeks draining of colour.

'Just take a seat,' Gary told her, unaware that he was grinning. 'We'll be out of your hair in a minute. You can keep your boyfriend company while we take a little spending money.'

'Gary!' Petey cried, reaching the bottom of the stairs. 'Let's just go!'

Gary felt his lip curl up in irritation. 'For God's sake, Femme-Boy, grow some balls! You knew this was how it would be! Now stop being such a goddamn baby and start looking around for that money.'

'_If you touch her I'll kill you, you bastards_!' Owen bellowed from his useless spot in the kitchen.

Gary smiled thinly. 'Don't worry, I haven't had the chance to reflect on how long it's been since I saw a girl. At least not yet.' He grinned at the terrified girl and winked.

Considering that Gary had imagined he was ready for everything, he really should have seen the next chain of events coming. The girl looked over his shoulder in shock, causing him to whirl around. He was too slow though, and only caught a glimpse of Petey before he slammed a large white lamp down on his head. Gary stumbled and dropped to the floor, pieces of smashed china showering around him. The knife skittered from his grip across the smooth floor.

'Thanks for busting me out, Gary,' Petey said, his voice strained. 'But I'm not doing it like this.'

Gary looked up at the skinny moron, fury making him tremble. He felt warm blood on his head but he ignored it. He started to get up, but Petey had already turned and was sprinting out of the front door and away down the street. Gary staggered to his feet, turning an angry glare on the girl. She whimpered and high-tailed it into the kitchen.

With a low, furious growl, Gary ran out of the front door and into the street. He looked both ways, but Petey had vanished.


	21. Unlikely Fugitive

Twenty:

Unlikely Fugitive

Pete wasn't slow; in gym he could keep a pretty good pace around the track, but he wasn't exactly _speedy_. However he managed to shock himself at the speed of his feet as they carried him out of Owen Mansfield's front door and down the empty street. He wasn't even aware of himself running. It was like his legs had just decided to take control, carrying the rest of him away from Gary Smith as quick as possible. The guy was insane. _Beyond_ insane. He was a complete psychopath. That look in his eyes when they had heard the front door open... Pete was convinced that he would have gone down and stabbed that girl if she had caused any trouble for them.

Pete refused to deal with anymore death.

The lamp thing had been the most surprising. Running would have been enough, really. Gary probably wouldn't have even noticed he was gone until he was off down the street, but panic had taken over. Pete had felt like he wasn't in his body; he was merely watching from the sidelines as he plucked up a smooth and rather expensive looking lamp and smashed it over Gary's head. He could faintly recall words coming out of his mouth, but he had no idea what they were. All he had been aware of was the dangerous speed of his pounding heart.

He had been running about ten minutes or so when he finally stopped and checked behind him. The street was deserted. The only sounds he could hear was his own laboured breathing and a dog barking faintly in the distance. There was no one else around. There was no sign of Gary.

Had Gary even gotten up? Pete couldn't remember. Maybe he had knocked him out? Maybe he had _killed_ him? No, no Gary had gave him a pretty pissed off look before he had split. He could have passed out, but it was unlikely that he was dead. But if he had passed out then the cops might get him and ship him right back to Happy Volts. Gary would be furious. He hadn't even been free for longer than two hours.

But then again maybe it was for the best. After all Gary was extremely dangerous; he had proved that in Owen's house. Pete guessed he had never believed that his old friend could be so psychotic, but now he had proof. If he wanted to clear his name, the last thing he needed was Gary Smith ruining his reputation.

Pete secured his hood over his head and pulled down his cap. Fortunately he had gotten a belt on before the girl had let herself into Owen's house so they weren't falling down anymore. However he still tripped up on the long trouser legs. He got walking, head down and hands deep in his pockets, and tried to figure out what the hell it was he was going to do now. How on Earth did you go about proving your innocence when you had just busted out of a mental institution and held a fruit delivery guy hostage in his kitchen?

'That wasn't you...' he muttered to himself. 'That was Gary.'

He nodded. Technically he was a hostage too. He hadn't really had a choice in escaping – Gary practically forced him into it. Okay, so maybe he hadn't exactly complained, but it would have been a hard job to disagree with Gary. And now he had escaped his 'kidnapper' what did they expect him to do? Turn himself in? No way. Any half way sane person would look for someone to help. Someone they trusted...

Pete stopped walking and looked up. He hadn't even been aware he had been heading in this direction until he saw the street name. He stood on the sidewalk and looked at his parents' house, a sickly twisting feeling in his stomach. What should he do? Just head in? Would they be pleased to see him?

Of _course_ they would be pleased; he was their only son.

But what if they weren't?

Pete looked up the street at the sound of an approaching engine. His eyes widened at the police car that crawled along the road, heading right towards him. Pete turned, lowered his head, and walked quickly down the sidewalk. He refrained from running, knowing that it would be suicide to do that. He would only attract attention. His heart began to pound again as the police drew closer, closer, then parallel with him...

It seemed to stick by his side for a moment. Pete didn't dare look up at the driver. He was suddenly very aware of the way he was walking; his feet were shaking, his legs trembling. Jesus, why had he gone along with this? He wasn't fugitive material. He wasn't going to last five minutes on the street with everyone out looking for him! What would he do if his parents rejected him? Flee to Mexico? Yeah, great life plan, Petey.

The police car continued away without slowing. Pete risked a glance at it just as it turned around the corner, and then suddenly felt very sick. He dived off the path, towards a mass of shrubbery and foliage, and abruptly threw up. The bile stung his throat and the retching hurt his stomach, but afterwards he felt a little better. He was thinking a little clearer.

His parents were the only option. If he explained about Gary's theory about the bribed doctors (of course he would leave out that it was Gary's theory – no one would believe him if he thought it was the paranoid ramblings of a psycho) then his parents would have no choice but to confront Monroe and bring this whole thing to light. Then everyone would believe that he wasn't crazy and he could go back to his own life.

Pete glanced around the street. There were a few people around now; and a few people he recognised. Well it was bound to be the case, this _was_ his street after all. If someone spotted him that would be it. He needed to keep his head down for a little while. Until it was dark, and then he could move under cover of darkness and there would be less chance of being recognised.

Pete cast one last look towards his family home, ignored the pang in his stomach, and set off to find somewhere quiet to lay low for the next couple of hours.


	22. Parental Issues

A/N: I'm trying not to update more than once a day because I don't want to leave anyone behind, but I'm enjoying writing this story too much :P I like to post the chapter as soon as I've finished it, just so it doesn't get lost or anything. From now on I'll stick to the one-update-a-day thing (lol, most people struggle with just that!). And thanks for the reviews everyone, especially you for your speedy reviews gamefangurl! Get an account so I can reply to you properly ^_^

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Twenty One:

Parental Issues

It didn't matter what season it was; spring, summer, whatever – it _always_ got dark at seven pm in Bullworth. But seven pm had been a long time coming for Pete and he wished that he had his watch with him. It was probably still under lock and key in Happy Volts, along with everything else he had had on him when they had come to take him away. But it didn't really matter. Once he got home he could change into some clothes that actually fit him and get his old watch from his bureau drawer. Yeah it was a dumb kid's watch, but it was better than nothing.

Pete looked up at the darkened sky from his perch on an upturned gravestone. He had waited until the moon appeared, and what an appearance it made. It was huge in the sky, shining down at him from behind the church. The cemetery was lit with its eerie blue glow, threatening to bring the shadows to life and luring emotional monsters from their hiding places. But despite the unnerving atmosphere around him, Pete found it hard to get to his feet and start walking. He was afraid of running into Gary again, he was afraid of being cornered by the police, but most of all he was afraid of his parents reaction to him. He wouldn't be able to take their rejection.

He finally managed to stand up and began walking for the old rusted gates, keeping his eyes firmly on the path ahead and away from the weeping trees and battered headstones that surrounded him. He had to go home. What else was he going to do? Spend the rest of his life in the cemetery? Turn out just like that crazy Hobo that lived behind the old school bus? No, not Pete. He would rather be six feet under than live a life like that.

It was a five minute brisk jog to his house, and he found that the exercise made him feel a little better. Without Gary it would be a lot easier to convince his parents that it was all a huge misunderstanding. It would also be much easier to talk to Jimmy when that time came. Pete could picture the look on his best friend's face if he had turned up with Gary. He wouldn't have listened to a word he had to say.

A new thought struck Pete as he turned onto his street, and he slowed down to a steadier pace. Surely everyone would have heard about his and Gary's escape by now. It had probably been on the news, and because Bullworth was such a small town news tended to carry fast. If the word was out then everyone would know it was only he and Gary who had escaped. People would know they had escaped together. Would they still trust Pete if he had ditched Gary?

Pete blinked and realised he was at his front door. What now? Should he just walk in? Should he knock? If the door was locked he knew there was a spare key underneath one of the many flower pots that scattered their front porch. He raised his fist to knock, but stopped.

What was he doing? As soon as everyone caught wind of the escape the first thing the police would do would be to stake out his home. They were probably in there right now, peeking out from behind the curtains and waiting for him to make a move. Suddenly he realised why Gary had been acting the way he did. It was because he understood that as soon as they had passed through the gates of Happy Volts, everything changed. If they were caught they wouldn't just be put back in those poxy cells with nothing but recreation time to look forward to. They would probably be transferred to a high security facility, somewhere that was packed to the brim with psychos that were probably a million times worse than Gary. This was real, and it was serious, and Pete couldn't do it on his own.

Hell, he had probably ruined everything just by turning up here!

Pete quickly turned to leave, but the familiar click of the front door stopped him. He looked up as the door opened, spilling warm light all over his worn, pale face. Seeing his mothers face, her expression matching his, made all the tenseness in his body just melt away. His shoulders slumped. His knees buckled beneath him and he almost dropped onto the porch, lump rising in his throat. A squeak escaped him.

His mother gasped, her hand going to her mouth. 'Peter?' she breathed. 'Is that you?'

Pete nodded. 'It's me, mom.'

She blinked at him feverishly, as if trying to blink away hallucination. When Pete didn't vanish, she released a squeak of her own and pulled him into her arms, hugging him with all her might. Pete couldn't quite get his breath, but he didn't care. He clung to her, savouring the protective warmth you can only feel once in the arms of a parent. He wasn't surprised to feel hot tears stinging his eyes.

'Mom, it's all gone wrong. I'm so sorry, mom... I don't know what to do...'

She pulled back and looked at him, tears in her own eyes. She smiled, running her hands over his face, probably still trying to figure out if he was real and not just a figment of her grief stricken imagination. She snapped out of it and glanced past him to the street. A moment later she was bustling him inside. 'Inside, Peter. Get in.'

Pete did as he was told and moved into the hallway. He turned to see his mother close the door and lock it behind them, then quickly dash into the living room and close the curtains. She had a light, peach coloured blanket around her shoulders and her hair was slightly dishevelled. It was a strange look for his mother, considering she believed she had to look her best even when she was heading for bed. As he followed her into the living room he looked around, and then quickly realised what she had been doing before he had arrived.

There was a disturbed part on the couch where she had been sitting, and on the coffee table was a pile of photograph albums. While his mother disappeared into another room, probably to close more curtains, Pete approached the albums. He picked up the open one and looked down at the happy, shiny faces that stared up at him. He felt an ache in his torso as he looked at his seven year old self grinning happily over the top of his train-shaped birthday cake. Behind his right shoulder was the young, fresh face of his mother. The memories that accompanied the photo made the lump in Pete's throat grow even larger, almost until it hurt.

'Peter.' His mother's soft voice made him lower the album and turn. She was standing in the doorway, hands writhing in front of her. She sighed; a sigh full of disappointment and agony. 'Oh Peter. How did you get into this mess?'

Pete opened his mouth to explain everything. He wanted to start from what really happened in the alley, then meeting Gary in Happy Volts and the real deal with the letter. He wanted to apologise for the way he had acted in Monroe's office. He wanted to try and make her believe the theory that it was really one of the Preps behind Zoe's murder. He wanted to tell her how much he had missed her and dad, and how sorry he was for causing them so much grief and heartache... but instead, as his mouth opened, the lump in his throat lurched upwards and he burst into tears. He stood there, sobbing uncontrollably; tears streaking his cheeks and saliva wetting his lips.

A moment later and he was in his mother's arms again and she was rocking him back and forth. If it was up to him, he would never allow her to let go.

* * *

Gary sat cross legged on a bench just by the entrance of the park. His eyes stared ahead into the darkness, unfocused, and he chewed distractedly on his thumb. His head still throbbed a little from where that little bastard had clocked him with the lamp, but there was no lasting damage. The cut that had been left on his head was covered with his black baseball cap and he had washed most of the blood away in the water fountain further in the park. Petey's actions had pissed him off, yeah, but the thing he was mostly annoyed at was that he had had to leave Owen Mansfield's house with no money.

That _really_ pissed him off.

It didn't matter though. He would be able to get Petey back for it soon. The little twerp was easier to read than an audio book and even a cabbage would be able to predict that he would go running to his parents. It was a stupid move, but then again Pete _was_ stupid. But it would certainly teach him a few lessons when the inevitable happened.

Gary glanced over his shoulder and out of the park gates. He could see Petey's house just up the street. A moment ago the place had been lit up like Vegas, but now the blinds were drawn and the house looked still and silent. Gary bet that it wasn't still and silent inside though.

Ten minutes was his estimate. Ten minutes before Petey realised his mistake and came sprinting out. Gary smirked and allowed his eyes to unfocus again. Ten minutes before the beginning of one of Petey's most important life lessons.

Gary was his only friend now. The sooner Petey realised that, the easier it would be for both of them.


	23. Mother Knows Best

A/N: Hi! Just a quick request. Could you guys take a mo to vote on the poll on my page? T'would be much appreciated :D

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Twenty Two:

Mother Knows Best

Pete wasn't sure how long he had sat on the couch, head buried into his mother's chest as she stroked his head, whispering reassurances to him. Could have been minutes, could have been hours. It could have been days and Pete still wouldn't be ready for her to let go. With his eyes tightly shut and his hands gripping the bottom of her sweater he didn't have to think about the mess he was in. He didn't have to worry about where Gary was, or if the police were on his trail. He didn't have to suffer the headache of trying to figure out who would bribe the doctors of Happy Volts into keeping him there. But this protective ignorance couldn't last forever.

'Peter, sweetie,' his mother said gently. 'Tell me what happened. What are you doing here?'

Pete sat up, wiping his nose. His hands were trembling and he knew that if Gary could see him now then he would torture him mercilessly, but Gary wasn't here. For the time being he didn't have to worry about Gary.

'I didn't kill Zoe Taylor, mom.' Pete insisted, wiping the heel of his hands across his eyes. 'I swear I didn't. I don't care what that stupid doctor says, I didn't touch her. I didn't even _fight_ with anyone!'

His mother touched his arm and half smiled, but the smile was forced and pained. 'Sshh. You're still upset. We're never going to get to the bottom of this while you're in such a state, are we?'

Pete sniffed again and shook his head. 'No.' He replied.

'There. Now do you think you can calm down for me?'

He tried to gather himself, but it was difficult. He glanced up to her, running his shaky hands through his short hair. 'Where's dad?'

His mother pursed her lips briefly, and then forced out another one of those heartbreaking smiles. 'He's at the police station, sweetie.' She told him, wiping a tear from his cheek. 'The um... the police have been around here. They told us you had... you had _escaped_.' Tears formed in her own eyes and she shook her head. 'Oh, Peter, what were you thinking? This isn't going to achieve anything, is it? If you wanted to talk to someone you could have arranged to have your dad and me come visit you. You know we would have helped you with any problems you had...'

'It's not that simple.' Pete replied. 'Look mom... Before I go on you've got to do this for me, okay? You've got to say you believe that I didn't kill Zoe. You believe me, right?'

For a moment he thought she wasn't going to say anything. The brief silence was like a sword slicing through him, but then she tilted her head and sighed. 'How could I believe that my beautiful son could do a thing like that?'

Pete breathed out a sigh of relief, which almost nearly turned into more sobs. He managed to hold them back, though. 'It was someone else who killed her. I don't know who, but whoever it was is using me as a scapegoat. They're paying off Doctor Monroe so he'll keep me in and no one will find out who really killed her. The only person who would have enough money to do something like that would have to be... uh... someone like Derby. You know, Derby Harrington? You remember him, right?'

His mother looked a little pale. Her lips were pressed tightly together. 'Yes.' She replied, quietly.

'Well, he was there,' Pete told her, unable to stop his voice from speeding up. His heart was beginning to pound in his chest. 'Along with some other preppy kids. I mean, I can't remember properly... but they were pretty close just before Zoe went down. If I can prove that it was one of them that killed her and not me then I won't have to go back to that place.' He turned and looked up at her. She must have seen something she didn't like in his eyes because she frowned vaguely. Perhaps it was the exhausted desperation. 'I can't go back there, mom.' He said. 'I mean it. I won't.'

She looked at him for a moment. 'You're tired.' She pointed out. Her voice sounded strained, like she was having trouble keeping it at a normal level. 'And those clothes don't fit you. Go upstairs and have a shower and get changed, okay sweetie? I'll make you something to eat and then we can talk about what we're going to do.' She brushed his cheek with her thumb again. 'Does that sound fair?'

Pete nodded. Come to think of it he did need a shower. All the panic in Owen's house and the amount of running he had done earlier left him clammy and uncomfortable. It would also feel great to be in his own clothes; in something familiar. 'Thanks.' He said, meaning it.

His mother stood up. 'Go on now.' She said, but there was something strange about her voice now. She smiled again. 'I'll be in the kitchen if you need anything.'

'I'm sorry, mom.' Pete said quickly, causing her to stop. 'I'm sorry for putting you and dad through this.'

She began to look over her shoulder, but didn't. 'I know, Peter.' She replied quietly, and then disappeared out of the room.

Pete remained where he was for a moment, looking around at the living room. He felt like he didn't belong here. He felt like a stranger. He looked down at his clothes and decided that after a shower he would probably feel more like himself, and then he could sit down with his mom and tell her everything. It would be harder to get his dad's attention as he was probably furious – Peter Kowalski Senior didn't believe in inconveniencing people; and Pete had _majorly_ inconvenienced Doctor Monroe. It wouldn't be a case of breaking the law with his father; it would be more a case of bad manners.

He made his way upstairs and into his bedroom, which had remained the same ever since he had first moved into Bullworth Academy. It was a kids room. Pete wasn't a kid anymore. He stood in the doorway, looking around at all the junk; mostly small painted models of planes and submarines, before moving to the closet and reaching inside. Even his clothes seemed kiddish. They were all bright colours, green, red and blue. Pete remembered Gary's reaction when he had picked out a white t-shirt and felt the need to pick out something dark.

But surely he didn't need to be incognito now? His parents would protect him. He could wear whatever the hell he liked, it didn't matter. Still, he pulled out a black t-shirt, a dark hooded jacket and a pair of jeans. Wouldn't hurt to stick to dark shades.

Armed with fresh clothes, Pete made his way into the bathroom and showered. Mostly due to habit from his short but impressionable time in Happy Volts, he was out again in no more than two minutes. One good thing that came from his brief incarceration; he could be up, ready and dressed within ten minutes in the mornings.

He would have taken his time and relaxed a little, but he was keen to get back downstairs and try and figure out what the next move was with his parents. As he pulled his sweater over his head and made his way down the stairs and found himself feeling pity for Gary. If he hadn't been caught by the police then he would probably be off brooding in some back alley. He didn't have anyone to go to. Gary had never spoken about his parents to Pete, but Pete knew that they would never look after him at a time like this. Gary was alone in the world, which was bad for him. But Pete had his family, and for once in his life he was going to put himself first. He was grateful to Gary for helping him escape, but now he was going to help himself.

If Pete had been doing so much as whistling under his breath or rubbing his ear, he wouldn't have heard his mother's hushed voice coming from the kitchen. He stopped, cocking his head to listen. Was his dad back? No, if he was back Pete would have heard him come in. She had to be on the phone.

Pete approached the kitchen door slowly, not wanting to give away his position. He frowned and peered through the gap in the door. His mother was by the counter, phone against her ear and free hand in her hair. She was pacing a little, the way she did when she got anxious about something.

'I don't know where he's been,' she was saying into the phone. 'He just turned up. Yes, on his own. He hasn't said anything about anyone else. Look... no. If you were listening you would know I already said that. He's upstairs right now taking a shower....' A long pause. 'What do you mean has he hurt me? I'm his mother!' Another long pause. 'I know. Yes... Look, are you sure this is for the best? I hope you know I wasn't going to call at all until he started talking about bribing doctors...' She sighed heavily and rubbed her face. 'Ten minutes. Okay. And you're sure he'll be looked after? He's not going to be punished or anything, is he? Okay. Whatever is best for him. Goodbye, doctor.'

She set the phone down and sighed heavily, covering her face with both hands. Pete stared through the gap in the door, every part of him numb. It couldn't be what it looked like. She wouldn't do this. She couldn't possibly be turning him in...

She turned and saw him. She seemed to turn completely rigid, her eyes widening. Pete could tell that she was trying to decide whether or not he had heard her. She smiled warily. 'That was quick.' She whispered.

Pete turned and ran, feet skidding on the hallway floor. He heard her following him, calling his name, but he ignored her and stopped to grab a pair of his sneakers by the door. As he was grabbing them she had time to catch up and she got a handful of his shirt.

'Peter!' she cried. 'Peter, no! You can't just run away! This is for the best, believe me!'

Pete turned and pushed her, whole body throbbing with adrenaline. She stumbled back, eyes wide with shock by his actions. '_How could you do that to me_?' he yelled, feeling tears again in his eyes. 'I thought I could _trust_ you!'

'It's for the best, Peter!' she insisted, now also crying. 'You're _sick_! You need _help_!'

'I'm not sick!' Pete yelled. 'I thought you would be the only person who could see that! I came here for your help, mom!'

'I _am_ helping!' She moved forward, arms outstretched, but Pete felt himself raising one of the shoes. She recoiled, hands coming up. '_Peter_!' she shrieked, horrified.

Pete stopped, catching movement in the corner of his eye. He looked around, half expecting to see police in SWAT gear closing in on him. Instead he only saw a terrified, pale faced kid looking back at him, shoe held his in one of his hands, ready to bring it down on his own terrified mother. He looked to her, feeling sick. She stared up at him, hands out in front of her. Ready for the blow.

'I'm sorry,' he whimpered, then turned and slipped out of the front door.

'Peter!' she cried as he turned and ran bare footed down the path. 'Stop! Peter! Please come back! _Peter_!'

But Pete was never going to go back home. He ran down the street, ignoring the pain in his feet, and realised with sickening clarity that he had no one. He was just like Gary.


	24. Tears In The Rain

A/N: Did I update yesterday? I can't for the life of me remember... o.O my days have merged. Doesn't matter lol, I'm updating now xD Although I have the next chapter finished and ready to post, so I can either post it today or it can be tomorrow's update. Just leave a quick review if you want it today, if not I'll keep it for tomorrow. I just don't want to leave people drowning in a sea of chapter alerts D:

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Twenty Three:

Tears In The Rain

Pete ran along the pavement, feet drumming on the wet concrete in time with the frantic beat of his heart. His thoughts were so jumbled, his mind so disjointed that he had no idea where he was actually running to. All he knew was that he had to get away from those eyes. He had to get far, far away from that terrified, strange look in his mother's eyes. He had to put hundreds of miles between himself and that unfamiliar stranger that had stared back at him from the mirror. Had he really been about to hit his own mother? No… no, he couldn't have. He had never even so much as raised his _voice_ to his mother. But hearing her on the phone… hearing her betraying him like that… something had snapped.

And seeing that unfamiliar, sickening look of fear on her face; the way she had said his name… he had ran. He wasn't sure if he would ever stop running.

Why had he listened to Gary? Everything was going wrong. Pete knew he should have known better than to trust that psychopath, but he had just been so desperate to escape he had ignored his gut instinct. He had thought all he had to do was talk straight to the important people – convince his parents it was all a mistake, try to explain to Jimmy what happened. But now he knew none of them would listen. None of them would care. To them, Pete was crazy. Pete was _dangerous_. And why did they think that? Not because he had been put in an insane asylum; not because he was the only suspect in the murder of Zoe Taylor. No, it was because he had bust out with Gary Smith.

He might as well have signed a confession.

Pete raced down an alley, just not sure which one. The smell of old burnt cars and the nearby shouts and yells of disillusioned hobos informed him that it was in New Coventry. He didn't care though; he was just determined to get away from the haunting thoughts and ghostly images that plagued him. It had started raining and it seemed to be getting heavier with each passing second. It ran into his eyes, making him blink furiously. Running through dark alleys when you are temporarily blind is not necessarily a good idea, and Pete discovered that as something hooked his ankle and he went sprawling onto the hard wet concrete. The right side of his face scraped on the ground, instantly stinging. He also felt the skin peel away from the palms of his hands as he put them out to try and cushion the fall. He lay there for a moment, dazed and on his side on the alley floor. He watched the rain splattering on the ground beside him. Two scuffed black shoes stepped into his line of vision, accompanied by a very familiar, shiver inducing chuckle.

Gary squatted down, hands hanging limply between his bent legs. Pete managed to turn his head and look up, having to blink away the rain water that tried to collect in his eyes. More rainwater dripped off the brim of the black cap that was pulled firmly down on Gary's head, casting a dark shadow over his eyes.

'Nice bail, Femme-boy,' Gary chuckled. His voice sounded slightly distorted by the heavy rain. 'Although I'm curious… What would be so bad to run from that you would resort to running through alleys in New Coventry? It's almost like you _want_ to be gang raped.'

Pete started to push himself up quickly, his dazed mind finally reorganising itself and beginning to sense the danger he was in. Gary would be more than angry after the way Pete had left him. Lying here on the ground in this vulnerable position was not the best place to be. Before Pete could get up, however, Gary's firm hand came down on his face, pressing him back down onto the ground. He cried out in pain as his cheekbone collided painfully with the alley floor for the second time and struggled against the force on his head.

'Look at you,' Gary chuckled gleefully as he pressed down harder on the side of Pete's head. 'You're like a little slippery fish, splashing around helplessly in the puddles. If you give it up I'll let you go. Go on, Petey, play dead for me. Be a dead fish.'

Pete continued to struggle against him, feet sliding back and forth on the wet ground in desperate search of some footing. 'Get off me, Gary!' he cried. 'You're hurting me!'

'Oh come on,' Gary chuckled. 'Don't try and fight back, Petey, it's embarrassing for me to watch. You just lie still like a good little girl and keep your mouth shut.'

Pete felt a wave of anger rush over him and he bucked and kicked with more ferocity. Gary laughed gleefully, but his hand didn't move away from the smaller boy's head. In fact he just pressed down harder. Pete felt like his head was going to burst open like a watermelon. As much as he hated the idea of submitting to Gary he had no choice, so he stopped struggling and became still. Gary continued to push down on his head for a few moments longer, and then he finally let go. Pete breathed out a heavy sigh of relief, but now he was just too exhausted to get up. He continued to lie there, waiting for his pounding heart to slow to a safer speed and for the black spots before his eyes to disperse.

'I know what happened.' Gary said, cocking his head and smirking at Pete's pale, scraped face. 'You went home, didn't you? Even after what I said, you went there. I was planning on giving you the beating of your life when I caught up with you again after that cowardly attack with the lamp…' He paused and sighed, tilting his head the other way. 'But it looks like whatever happened was punishment enough. Am I right?'

Pete pushed himself up with weak arms until he was on his hands and knees. He remained that way for a moment, breathing heavily, before moving to a kneeling position. 'She's my mom, Gary,' he said in a small, strained voice. 'Why would she turn me in like that? I thought… I thought she loved me.'

Gary raised his head and looked casually around the alley. It was deserted, of course. No one in the right mind would hang around in these alleys now. Ironically enough it was since Zoe Taylor's unfortunate fate. The rain was heavy and thunder was rolling somewhere in the distance. But because both of them were already soaked right through, neither thought there would be much use in dashing for cover now.

'Petey,' Gary sighed. 'You just don't get it, do you?'

Pete looked up at him, blinking through the rain. 'Get what?'

Gary looked to him, pushing his cap back on his head. Pete was surprised to discover that his expression wasn't the usual mocking smirk, or malicious grin. Gary actually looked sympathetic. Even a little sad. 'It's just you and me, Femme-Boy.' He said. 'We've got to make our own way. No one's going to listen to us, you understand? If you want to prove that you didn't kill Zoe, you've got to realise that there's no one that's going to help you achieve that. Especially not your folks. If anything they'll stand in your way.'

'But they're my _parents_, Gary!' Pete cried, surprising himself with his sudden hysterical tone. 'They… They're not supposed to do that! They're supposed to stick up for me! They're supposed to _help_ me! They're supposed to know me better than I know myself!' It wasn't the tears that told Gary he was crying – they were washed away by the rain. It was the hitching of his breath and the redness of his eyes. 'They're supposed to look after me, and love me, and… and protect me from things like that. Instead they just hand me over like some… some _criminal_. The way my mom looked at me… I've never seen that look in her eyes before! I'm not her son anymore, Gary.' He sniffed and tried to gather himself, but he the pause just seemed to make him lose control even quicker. A loud sob escaped him and his hands flopped lifelessly in his lap. 'She thinks her Peter Kowalski is dead, and I'm just the bastard that killed him…'

Pete didn't want to cry in front of Gary. He could think of a million and one things he would rather do in front of him – but he just couldn't hold back the tears. He sobbed pathetically, shoulders shaking uncontrollably. Gary just watched him, not dissimilar to the way someone would watch an ant making its way down the garden path.

'Even if we do get to the bottom of this,' Pete sniffed, wiping a mixture of tears, rainwater and mucus from his nose. 'They'll never treat me the same. They'll never be the same.'

Gary sighed, glancing around the alley again. He was probably beginning to get nervous from being out in the open. 'Yeah, well trust me when I say that parents aren't the be all and end all. One day you'll realise they screw up just as much as everyone else. Probably more. Now get up off the freakin' floor, Petey. I've seen people pissing in that spot.'

Pete wiped his eyes and face, flicking away the rainwater. 'I don't think I can go on with this,' he whimpered. 'Maybe I should just turn myself in...'

Gary grabbed him suddenly by the collar and pulled him forward. 'Say that again and I'll smash your face, Femme-Boy. Don't you dare bottle out on me.' He pulled him closer, top lip curling up slightly. 'You're out now, Petey. You're not going back.'

Pete blinked through the rain at him and tried to figure out whether that was a threat or more of a promise. The confusion stopped his tears, which was probably Gary's intention. He watched as Gary released him and stood up, glancing around the alley again. After a moment he held his hand out.

'Get up off the floor.' He said calmly.

Pete hesitated, looking at Gary's hand as if it would lash out and strike him in the face at any moment. Finally he took it. Gary's grip tightened and he hauled the smaller boy to his feet easily. Pete stumbled slightly, then regained his balance. He stood awkwardly for a moment, touching the tender skin on his grazed cheek. 'I'm sorry, Gary,' he mumbled. 'For... y'know... hitting you with the lamp.'

'Water under the bridge,' Gary replied, waving a dismissive hand. He turned and began to head up the alley. Pete automatically followed him. 'Just make sure you don't do it again or I might have to kill you or something, and if I'm honest that would probably have a bit too much effort involved. Now keep up, Femme-Boy. I got us somewhere nice and derelict where we can lay low until tomorrow night.'

Pete nodded and followed, quickening his pace. As much as he hated the very idea of it, it looked like Gary was destined to be his only companion. At least for now.


	25. Here Beginneth The Lesson

A/N: This is tomorrow's chapter because I'm going to be out all day. Enjoy it, I'm sure some of you will enjoy it more than others xD

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Twenty Four:

Here Beginneth The Lesson

One good thing had come from Petey going AWOL earlier; it had meant Gary had been free to scope the town for a decent hideout. It had to be somewhere in close proximity to the school, but not on the grounds. Somewhere where no one would think to look for them, but not somewhere they would forget. Gary knew he would never forget, but Petey seemed to have lost half his brain power since being admitted to Happy Volts. And it wasn't as if he had actually been paying attention where he had been going after Gary picked him up off the wet ground and led him away from the alley.

Actually, Petey had only just managed to pull himself together. He was still snivelling pathetically, reminding Gary of a spoilt five year old, but at least he had his eyes open now. He sat on the edge of the bed, one of the stiff stained sheets pulled over his lap as he wiped the moisture from his face. He hadn't said anything since they arrived at the old motel by the underpass that bordered New Coventry, but Gary didn't mind. In fact Petey's wordless state was a welcomed relief. Well, it would be better if he wasn't still whimpering like a wounded puppy.

'You're getting on my nerves, Femme-Boy.' Gary grumbled, peering out through the old dusty blinds. Half of the window was boarded up, but there was a gap big enough to see out onto the street. There wasn't even any sign of dawn yet, which meant the two of them would have a long wait until evening came around again so they could head into the school. Gary had originally planned to go straight there after they left Fruity Owen, but after Petey's little trick and considering the emotional wreck he was right now; the school reunion would have to be postponed.

Petey sniffed, wiping his nose on the back of his hand. 'I'm sorry, Gary. I can't help it.'

Gary released the blinds and they snapped back into place. 'Yeah, well you better start helping it. If I'd known that you had tendencies to throw little hissy fits like that I would have left you behind. You're lucky the light fixtures are attached to the walls.'

Petey frowned, eyes still puffy and red. 'What did you expect me to do?' he snapped. 'I saw that look on your face. I thought you were going to attack that girl! It's one thing busting out of hospital. I didn't sign up to see people hurt.'

Gary waved a hand dismissively and prodded at the dials on the TV. Nothing happened of course as there was no electricity in the building. The only light that came into the room was from the street light out front, and even that had difficulty getting in due to the heavy wooden boards there. 'I wasn't going to hurt her,' Gary snorted, turning away from the old TV. 'I just wanted to... scare her a bit. Make sure she didn't try and do anything stupid like, say, _get us caught_. I'm starting to think it should have been you at knife point. You're a lucky bastard for not getting caught out there, Petey. Very lucky.'

'Yeah.' Petey grumbled, pulling his legs up onto the bed and hugging them to his chest. 'I'm so lucky I realised my mom was betraying me.'

Gary leaned against the scarred table beside the TV and regarded Petey with distain. Femme-Boy was going to be a like this all night and it was going to drive him insane. It was bad enough that the two of them would be cooped up in this dump until tomorrow evening; Petey really didn't have to make it drag. It looked like Gary was going to have to perk the little twerp up in his own way.

'Suck it up, Femme-Boy. You're boring me.'

Petey must have sensed something in his voice because he looked up suddenly, expression growing wary. Gary moved towards him, savouring his white, frightened face in the dimness. He put his hands on Petey's slim shoulders and squeezed them.

'Anyway,' he grinned. 'I think it's about time we talked about how we even the score.'

Petey swallowed hard. 'Even the score?' he squeaked.

'Yeah,' Gary grinned. 'You know, you tried to bash my melon in with a freaking lamp. I think it's only fair if I get a little payback for that.'

'But...' Petey stopped, blinking rapidly. 'But I thought you'd...'

'You thought I'd what, Petey?'

'I thought you'd forgiven me.'

Gary chuckled, shaking his head. 'Ah, Petey, Petey, Petey... How long have we known each other, huh? A few years?'

Petey nodded. 'Something like that.'

'You'd think you would have realised that I'm not a very forgiving person by now.' He flashed one more grin at Petey, enjoying the look of terror on the smaller boy's face, before pulling him off the bed and pushing him to the floor. He stepped back, chuckling as Petey got on his hands and knees, frantically trying to get back to his feet as quickly as possible. He finally got his feet under him again but Gary put his hand on his head and pushed him back down.

'Gary!' Petey cried, terrified. 'What the hell?'

'I don't want to beat the crap out of you, Petey,' Gary sighed. 'It'll make this whole sneaking around thing pretty hard. Last thing I need is some whiny little cripple slowing me down...' He tilted his head, considering something. 'So... I guess there's only one way you can make it up to me.' He smirked, and began to unfasten his belt.

'What are you doing?!' Petey cried, voice shrill. 'G...Gary! C'mon man, this isn't funny!'

Gary reached forward quickly, grabbing hold of Petey's left ear. He let out a cry as Gary twisted hard and leaned close to speak into it. 'Now listen here, moron, because I'm only going to say this once. Without me you would be still rotting away in that hellhole. You _owe_ me, Femme-Boy. I've gone out of my way to do a hell of a lot for you. The least you can do is give me a quick thanks, huh?'

Petey was trembling, his breathing quick and laboured. He winced at the pain in his twisted ear. 'I... I won't do that!'

Gary twisted his ear again, causing him to cry out for the second time. 'Well then if that's the case I don't really see why I'm bothering with all this,' he clicked his tongue, disappointed. 'I mean, I go out of my way for you. Y'know, if we actually stop and rack up the scores... what exactly have you done for me since we bust out? Huh? I can't think of anything. And here I've done plenty for you. I thought this was a two-way thing, Petey. Share and share alike. Now if you're going to be a glory hog and not share like a good girl then...' He sighed and shook his head. 'Then maybe it's time I just kick you to the curb.'

Petey looked up at him with wild, frightened eyes. He had a good idea of what Gary's translation of 'kicking to the curb' entailed; a hell of a lot of kicking and probably not much breathing afterwards. He started to shake his head but Gary's grip on his ear just tightened and he hissed in pain. 'Gary man... c'mon... Joke's over, okay? This isn't funny. I...if you want me to stop complaining I will, okay? I'll do more, okay? I swear Gary just... just don't make me do this...'

Gary just grinned. 'So what's it gonna be, Femme-Boy? C'mon, I bet it won't be the first time you've taken a shot in the mouth to save your ass.'

Petey whimpered, shaking his head. 'Gary, _please_...' he moaned, but his struggles had subsided. 'I can't...'

Gary let go of him and finished undoing his belt. 'Good choice, Petey.'

Petey shuddered and released a shaky breath. Fresh tears rolled down his flushed cheeks. He moved to a kneeling position reluctantly and closed his eyes tightly. His girly little lips trembled and he wetted them nervously. Gary decided enough was enough and, with a groan, he planted his hand on Petey's tear streaked face and shoved him back. Petey lost his balance and fell on his back. He lay there, blinking up at Gary with confused, red-rimmed eyes.

'You really think I'd want to stick my vitals anywhere near your whiny little mouth, Femme-Boy?' He snorted irritably and turned away, fastening up his belt. 'Yeah it's been a while, but I'm not _that_ desperate.'

Petey lay on the floor, staring up at him in bewilderment. Then suddenly his face flushed red and his jaw clenched tightly. 'You bastard!' he cried, voice high and wavering. 'What the hell is _wrong_ with you?'

Gary frowned and waved a hand like he was batting away a bug. 'You're such a little girl, you know that Petey? I knew there was a reason behind that pink shirt...'

Petey scrambled to his feet, face burning red. He lunged for Gary, but Gary shoved him aside easily causing him to hit the bed hard. He turned and glared at Gary again, tears of humiliation in his eyes. 'You're completely insane!' he accused. 'Do you really enjoy torturing people that much? You're _sick_!'

Gary turned to him, arms out by his sides. 'I'm trying to teach you something, Petey!' he cried. 'Geez I'm trying to do you a _favour_!'

Petey was outraged. '_A favour_?'

'Yes!' Gary replied. 'You're a pussy, Petey. Probably the biggest pussy I've ever met in my life.' He took a step forward and wasn't surprised when Petey recoiled. 'How the hell are you going to confront Derby Harrington with an attitude like that? He'll have you down licking his shoes within about ten seconds. Don't you see what I was doing? I'm trying to make you stand up to me, Petey! You've got to be more _assertive_. If you want to get anything out of this little expedition from the nuthouse then you're going to have to be a bit manlier. You understand that?'

Petey was still staring at him, chest rising and falling quickly, but some of the redness had left his cheeks. He opened his mouth to say something, but found himself lost for words.

Gary chuckled, shaking his head. 'I can't believe that you were going to let me shoot a load in your mouth. That little piece of info is stored for future reference.' He grinned and tapped his temple.

Colour flushed Petey's cheeks again and he snorted furiously. 'You're a complete jerk, Gary.'

Gary shrugged and moved to the bed. 'Yeah, yeah. Tell me something I don't know.' He pulled off his hooded sweater and tossed it aside. 'Well goodnight, Femme-Boy. If I wake up and catch you spooning me don't expect to see the sunrise. And get some sleep. Soon as night comes around again we're going to pay a visit to some old friends. You'll want to be on top form for that, trust me.' With that, Gary lay down on the bed and closed his eyes.


	26. Anticipating Confrontation

A/N: Ho-kay, sorry there was no update yesterday, I was dying of sunburn from the ridiculous heat of Sunday D: I'm still sore, but at least I'm past the moaning stage... a little lol. Sunburn is the curse of ginger people :( But I guess there's got to be a drawback of being so naturally beautiful xD Thanks to everyone reviewing and reading as usual! I can't think of the word I want to use... but it sure keeps me wanting to continue this story! What's the word...? Also if you haven't already go vote on the poll on my page. I'll be using the one with the highest vote tomorrow (I already have a character outline that I sent to the lovely brilliantmemories, but gender can be changed - I actually think it would be quite interesting if I flipped the gender from what it already is...) But it'll be whatever you decide :D

MOTIVATION!! Yes, that's the word! I knew I knew it xD

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Twenty Five:

Anticipating Confrontation

Pete hadn't even realised that he had fallen asleep until he opened his eyes and saw Gary's pale, grinning face hovering over him. He jerked and opened his mouth to ask what was going on, but instead of words only a strained squeak escaped. This tickled Gary and he chuckled happily.

'Aw,' he smirked, moving away from the tattered couch Pete had slept on. 'I almost didn't want to wake you, but I didn't want you to mess the couch. You looked like you were having another one of those dreams about Jimmy on stage in skin-tight leather.'

Pete blinked, trying to readjust to the reality of being awake. Finally his brain allowed him to take in his surroundings and he swung his legs off the couch and onto the floor. Gary was back by the bed, rummaging through what appeared to be a shopping bag. A moment later and there was a can of soda flying towards Pete's head.

'C'mon, Femme-Boy,' Gary sighed in exasperation. 'Get on the ball, will you? We've got a lot to get through tonight.' He tipped the bag out on the bed. Bars of chocolate and more cans of soda tipped out.

'Tonight? But I thought you said we would have to wait until...' Pete glanced to the boarded up window and frowned. It looked dim out there, but it must be dawn. He was sure he hadn't slept through the whole day...

'That's right, my friend,' Gary answered the unasked question jovially. 'You slept all day. You lazy little bastard. But at least you're not going to fall asleep or anything.' He tossed a chocolate bar towards him. 'Make sure you get plenty of sugar in you.'

Pete wasn't particularly hungry or thirsty. In fact he felt a little bit sick, but last night had certainly taught him a lesson; don't argue with Gary. He cracked open the can and took a small drink. Gary chose to down his own can, and his encore was a loud belch that made Pete grimace slightly. He tossed the can over his shoulder and grabbed another shopping bag, this one full of clothes.

'Where did you get all that stuff?' Pete asked, already feeling bloated.

'While you were snoozing away, Sleeping Beauty, I was off being practical.' He checked the size on a hooded jacket and threw it at Pete, followed by a white t-shirt and black pants. 'They should be your size. I had to guess. I was going to check on your pants, but if you'd woken up you probably would have thought I was trying to get my end away and you'd have gotten into position.'

Pete's cheeks reddened a little. 'I thought you had no money.' He said, quickly changing the subject.

'Yeah, thanks to you. But you don't need money these days. Especially if folk leave the doors to the stock rooms unlocked. I think the people of this town are just as gullible as you sometimes, Petey.'

Pete sighed heavily. He couldn't be bothered with Gary's abuse. He couldn't be bothered with anything. He still felt tired and weak, and the last thing he wanted to be doing was sneaking around Bullworth Academy in the dead of night. He couldn't bear to think of even _seeing_ Jimmy, let alone trying to convince him that it hadn't been him that killed Zoe. It would be especially hard with Gary lingering behind him with that infuriating smirk on his face. The more he thought about it, the sicker he felt. And the more he believed that he was probably going to end up killed.

'Maybe we should... y'know... just leave.' Pete heard himself saying.

Gary glanced up to him, halfway through removing his t-shirt. 'Leave?' he repeated. His brow darkened.

'Yeah.' Pete continued, despite his brain screaming at him to shut up. 'Leave Bullworth. I mean... what's going to happen when we get back to school anyway? Say all this goes to plan and I manage to convince everyone I didn't do anything... then what? Yeah, I'll be free – but they'll just ship you right back to Happy Volts. You'll probably even get transferred to some high security place or something.'

'You saying you want to elope with me, Femme-Boy?'

'No, I just mean-'

Gary shrugged and finished pulling off his t-shirt. 'I'm flattered, but don't you worry about me. I know I'll end up going back sooner or later. This is just... well, think of it as an unsupervised field trip.' Pete just stared at him, so he rolled his eyes and elaborated. 'C'mon, Petey. You really think that I'm going to ever be some kind of useful member of society? I could frolic off to Canada or some crap but then it would probably only be a few weeks before I got myself into some other predicament that ends up with me behind bars.' He put his arms in a black sweater and shook his head. 'I'm crazy, not stupid.'

Pete frowned vaguely. 'So... you know you're going back?'

'Yeah.' Gary nodded matter-of-factly.

'And that doesn't bother you?'

'Not really.' He popped his head out of the sweater and grinned. 'Does it bother you?'

Pete shifted uncomfortably, not enjoying the intensity of Gary's grin. 'No, but... y'know...'

For some reason Gary decided to pass up on the opportunity to poke more fun at him. Instead he picked up a chocolate bar and flopped lazily onto the bed. 'Doesn't bother me at all,' he replied peeling off the wrapper. 'As long as I get this one last chance to get into Bullworth Academy before everyone graduates. Fair enough there's a little while for that yet but... well, better sooner than later.' He shoved the whole chocolate bar in his mouth and reached for another. 'And anyway,' he added with his mouth full. 'Who could possibly pass up an opportunity to torture Derby Harrington?'

Pete was troubled about Gary's real intentions once he got into the school, but he smiled a little anyway. 'Yeah. Derby is a complete jerk.'

'Glad to see we're on the same page for once.' Gary replied. He suddenly sounded quite bored, and it was probably because they were on their way to having a civilised conversation. Well, probably not _civilised_, but at least it wasn't just a string of abuse being hurled at Pete. But Gary had always been the same; normality bored him.

'So um... what do you think will happen to you when you go back?' Pete asked, picking a piece off the chocolate bar and forcing himself to eat it.

Gary sighed. 'Oh I don't know. Perhaps a revaluation, a nice set of restraints... hopefully a hot nurse.' He tipped Pete a wink. 'The really crazy guys always get a hot nurse.'

'You're not worried?'

'How many times, Petey,' Gary almost growled. 'I don't care. Now will you quit with the patronising twenty questions? Or do you want me to stick something in that little mouth of yours to shut it up for good?'

Pete obediently fell silent. He reminded himself of one of those tiny, sad eyed dogs that have learned to lie still when their owner's voice hits a certain pitch. Gary finished off a third chocolate bar and lay on the bed for a moment, frowning at the ceiling.

Pete wondered what was going through his head. Was he worried about going to the school too? No, not Gary. Gary never got worried. He was probably going through the hundreds of different ways that he could get back at Jimmy. That didn't worry Pete though, because he knew Jimmy could handle Gary. A revenge attack on Jimmy would only backfire, and Gary probably knew that better than anyone. The thing that had Pete most worried was what Gary had in store for Derby Harrington. He was very much aware that the word 'torture' had already been used, and it was probably not an exaggeration.

A high pitched beeping sound interrupted Pete's thoughts, and it took him a moment to realise that it was Gary's watch. He sat bolt upright, like a vampire rising from its resting place, and grinned at the small plastic watch face.

'Right,' he grinned, eyes sparkling. 'Get your shit together, Femme-Boy, because it's show time. You ready?'

'I guess...' Pete mumbled, putting aside his half eaten chocolate bar and picking up the clothes Gary had thrown at him.

Gary hopped off the bed. 'Well what is it? You're either ready or you're not.'

'I'm ready, Gary. Geez...'

'Good.' Gary grinned broadly, then chuckled. 'Man, I should have bust out of that place months ago. I think I'm gonna mess myself I'm so excited.'

Pete shot him a brief frown and then quickly got changed. Before they left Gary pulled a black cap; a one matching his own, down on Pete's head. Just as they were about to leave the motel, Gary turned and grabbed Pete by his shoulders.

'You just remember what I said last night, Petey,' he said, voice low and serious. 'You've got to be a man if you want to get out of this in one piece, got that?'

Pete nodded, his stomach churning. 'Sure, Gary.'

Gary patted his cheek and then pulled open the door. 'Good man.' He said, and pushed Pete out into the cold night air.


	27. Night Watch

A/N: Sorry for the wait! I've been pretty busy and haven't had much time to write. I won't do it again though I promise, because it's going to be over in a few more chapters. Maybe five or so, I'm not sure yet. Anyway I'm just curious to who is still reading! Let me know if you are :D

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Twenty Six:

Night Watch

Gary was too excited. He was beginning to think that he was going to blow everything simply because he couldn't stop his knees jerking or suppress the giggle that kept threatening to rise in his throat. Petey was just as bad really. He couldn't stop fidgeting and he was jumping at the slightest sound. Sneaking through the Academy was going to be hard enough with the Prefects prowling the grounds, and it also hadn't helped that all the gates were locked up.

'I don't even know what we're doing, Gary,' Petey whispered from behind him. They were scrambling over rocks that scattered the grounds behind the old school bus, towards the high stone wall that contained the school. 'I mean... once we're inside, then what?'

'Don't you worry, Petey,' Gary replied, hauling himself onto a flat rock. 'You just follow my lead and it'll be peachy.'

Petey muttered something that Gary didn't quite catch, but he didn't care. He scrambled over the last rock and reached the top of the wall. On his hands and knees he crawled to it, then peered over the top. A moment later and Petey was by his side, breathing heavily.

'Looks like Jimmy's utopia is pretty boring if you ask me,' Gary remarked, dark eyes scanning the deserted parking lot. 'It's only, what... two am? And the place is deserted. Usually Russell's his bum-boys would be hanging around.'

'They don't hang in the parking lot anymore,' Petey replied. 'No one really has a particular hang out spot. They go anywhere.'

Gary shot Petey a bewildered glance. 'You mean everyone mingles?'

Petey shrugged his thin shoulders. 'Pretty much. The odd fight breaks out now and then but it's nothing insane.'

Gary frowned. Well that sounded boring. He couldn't for the life of him understand why Jimmy wanted it this way. Where was the fun? This place needed turning upside down – and fast. At that moment Gary would have given anything to be a student again just so he could get in and get his hands dirty. But this would have to do. 'Come on then.' He said, throwing one leg over the wall.

Petey stared at him. 'What? You're going to _jump_? But that's like... fifteen feet or something!'

'It's no more than fourteen,' Gary snorted. 'Are you coming or what?'

'I can't jump down there, Gary.' Petey shook his head and backed away as far as he was able. 'We'll find another way in.'

'There _isn't_ another way, Femme-Boy.' Gary scowled. 'Look, I'm starting to get a little tired of your pissy attitude to everything. I'm starting to think you don't even _want_ this sorted out.'

Petey swallowed. 'I just don't think I can...'

'Do you want me to push you? Will that make it easier?'

Petey fell silent and peered over the wall, obviously deliberating whether his scrawny little legs could take the landing. He glanced back once to Gary and realised that it was either going to be his legs or his neck, so he sighed. 'Fine.'

'That's a good boy.' Gary smirked, pulling down Petey's cap over his face.

'Gary, man!' Petey whined, readjusting his cap. 'Let's just get on with this, okay?'

'Ladies first.' Gary said, gesturing to the wall.

Petey hesitated, again peering down to the grass that he would hopefully land on. He sucked in shaky breath, and swung one leg over the wall. Gary watched him, highly amused, as the small boy muttered something, and then dropped down to the dark parking lot.

'_Ow_!' his whiny voice floated back up. 'Oh man! I think I bust my ankle.'

Gary chuckled and rolled his eyes before dropping down after him. He landed easily and stood up, brushing down his dark clothes. He looked down at Petey, who was crouched on the ground and prodding at his ankle.

'Let me see.' Gary said, kneeling beside him.

'Don't touch it!' Petey started, but Gary had already lifted the foot up and was poking and prodding at the ankle. Petey let out a strained yelp and pulled his leg away. 'That hurts!'

'It's just twisted.' Gary told him, standing up. 'Now get up you frigging pansy. We can't sit here all night, can we? Do you want to get caught?'

Petey muttered something again, this time a little more vehemently. Gary probably would have been able to make it out if he had been listening, but his excitement was taking charge again. This was the first time he had been back on campus since _that_ day, and the ground beneath his feet seemed to charge him somehow. He almost couldn't wait to see Jimmy Hopkins. He couldn't wait to see his stupid lumpy face trying to comprehend the fact that it was Gary in front of him. But he would have to hold his horses a little. Petey had to see him first.

'Get up already.' Gary snarled, getting impatient. He grabbed Petey's collar and hauled him up to his feet.

'I don't think I can walk on it.' Petey whined, favouring his injured ankle.

'Don't be such a girl.' Gary spat, and pushed him ahead.

Petey stumbled, letting out a cry as his weight fell on his bad foot, and then turned and glared at Gary. 'Y'know, Gary, this isn't helping.'

'Shut up.' Gary shot in return. He suddenly couldn't be bothered with Petey's procrastination. Adrenaline was running through him, making his fingers jerk and his spine shudder. He shoved Petey again. 'Come _on_, Femme-Boy.'

'I'm coming, geez...' Petey muttered, and then limped alongside Gary towards the large, dark school.

They stuck to the walls, Petey keeping behind Gary as they moved silently around the dark walkway. The campus was silent apart from the odd night bird calling out and the faint sirens of New Coventry. Gary was a little unsettled by the silence; there weren't even any Prefects around. It all seemed a bit weird to him – almost like they were expected.

'Where the hell are all the Prefects?' Gary mused aloud as he hovered behind a trashcan, scanning the walkway that split off between the two dorms.

'They don't come out much after one,' Petey whispered. 'They've got no reason to, really.'

Gary continued to frown, still troubled. 'Yeah well still keep close, Petey.' He paused before adding. 'Not too close though. I don't want your hands on my ass or anything.'

'You're such a jerk.' Petey muttered, but obediently followed as Gary quickly scampered across the walkway towards the boy's dorm. Petey half hopped after him, one foot dragging slightly on the concrete. The noise was like sirens to Gary, and he had to refrain for spinning around and punching the smaller boy in his face. If Petey screwed this up he didn't know what he would do. He would probably just snap – that is if he hadn't snapped a long time ago.

Gary grabbed Petey and pulled him under the archway. He quickly looked around, checking for any lingering students but saw none. Once he was completely certain the coast was clear, he grabbed Petey by the collar and pulled him close. So close their noses were nearly touching.

'Now look here, Femme-Boy,' he hissed, not meaning to sound so aggressive but unable to help it. 'This is how it's going to happen. You're going to go in there, _quietly_, and pull the fire alarm. Then you're going to go _straight_ into Jimmy's room – got that? And you're going to make sure he doesn't go out. Keep him in there. It's that simple, understand? You mess up, and I'll kill you.'

Petey was trembling a little, eyes like huge brown saucers. 'W...what are you going t-to do?'

'You just keep your mind on what you have to do, okay?' Gary growled. 'Do I have to tell you again?'

'No, no Gary. I get it. I remember.' Petey tried to pull back, but Gary just held him tighter.

'I mean it, Petey. You try anything or you mess this up, and I'll kill you.' He reached into his pocket and pulled out a pocketknife. He held it up by the side of Petey's face and pressed the button, causing the knife to spring out. Petey jumped at stared at the gleaming blade. Gary stared hard at him. 'I'm not kidding.'

Petey swallowed hard. 'Sure, Gary.' He whimpered.

Gary lowered the blade and pushed him towards the dorm. 'Get going.' He whispered, harshly.

Petey stumbled and little before scampering off towards the Boy's Dorm, still limping. Gary waited until he had disappeared inside before putting the knife back into his pocket and pulling his hood over his head.

Showtime.


	28. Old Friends

A/N: Oh bugger it, I was going to wait until tomorrow to post this chapter but it's just sitting there in my saved folders and staring at me o_O. So here you go :P I've never written Jimmy before, so if he sucks then I apologise xD

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Chapter Twenty Seven:

Old Friends

Pete felt like he was going to pass out as he entered the boy's dorm. He had been nervous enough without Gary's threats, and the sight of that switchblade had sent him into fully-fledged terror mode. This was getting way out of hand. Where the hell had Gary gotten that knife from? And why the hell did he have it? No doubt he would be coming into Jimmy's room as soon as all the other kids had cleared out, so what then? Did he intend to use that knife on Jimmy?

Not for the first time Pete had the bleak thought that Gary was just using him to get back at Jimmy. The only reason he didn't completely believe that was because he couldn't understand why Gary would _need_ to use him. Surely if Gary had wanted to escape Happy Volts to get at Jimmy he would have done it before Pete had turned up. He hadn't done anything to help. If anything he had probably just gotten in the way. But at the same time it certainly wasn't like Gary to go out of his way to help someone like this, even if it _was_ to get back at Monroe.

Pete's head began to hurt, but he welcomed it because it took his mind off his throbbing ankle.

Anyway, this wasn't the time to be worrying about Gary's intentions. Pete was more worried about Jimmy's reaction to him. If he believed that he had killed Zoe then Pete knew that Jimmy would beat him up, maybe even kill him. Despite the fact Pete respected and liked Jimmy a whole lot more than Gary, he was still more afraid of him right now. He almost headed back outside to tell Gary he couldn't go through with it. He would rather face Gary in all honesty. Well, he probably would have if Gary didn't have that knife.

Pete crept along the hallway, eyes and ears alert for any movement. Ivan would probably be hanging around, taking that that guy hardly ever slept, and when he _was _sleeping he was wandering around. But fortunately the dorm seemed to be deserted. But still, Pete stopped and listened. No voices, no TVs or radios... just light snoring coming from various rooms. Pete found himself wishing that there had been someone around, just so they could put an end to this madness.

He quickly moved to the fire alarm, noticing with apprehension that Jimmy's door was shut. It had never been shut before. Jimmy did everything with his door open, even some things that most of the guys didn't want to see. If the door was locked then it would ruin everything. Pete would have no escape when he turned on the fire alarm. The sensible thing would be to check it if it was unlocked first, but then if Jimmy saw him before he pulled the alarm...

_Calm down,_ Pete told himself. _Don't panic. You'll blow everything if you panic._

He took a deep breath and stood by the fire alarm, staring at it. Grubby fingerprints smudged the white handle from where dozens of other kids had pulled it as a prank. Pranks seemed like a whole world away now; Pete could never imagine ever pulling a prank on anyone after all of this – not that he had been one for prank pulling before. He let out a shaky breath, reached out, and pulled the alarm.

The bell rang deafeningly; stunning Pete and making his legs go stiff. Then he heard the distinct angry yell of Johnny Vincent from his dorm room and quickly limped to Jimmy's room. He grabbed the door handle and twisted it. The door wouldn't budge.

_It's locked_! Pete's brain screamed. _This is it! Gary's going to cut you open because you've just blown it! You should have checked if it was unlocked, moron!_

But then Pete realised that in his haste he had pulled on the door instead of pushing. He pushed, spurred on by the sounds of rising, grumpy students and the shrill alarm, and blundered into Jimmy's bedroom. He quickly slammed the door shut without looking around, heart thudding in his chest. He rested his head against the wood, listening to the sounds of the students trooping by in the corridor. His heart began to slow and the departing adrenaline made his limbs go weak.

Then he was suddenly aware that someone was staring at him.

Pete whirled around, eyes wide, to see Jimmy standing on the other side of the bed in his jammies, staring in bewilderment at him. Pete stared back, unable to react. He froze up. Jimmy didn't look good; his face was pale and he looked sick. But he was still hard and muscular, and Pete soon found himself wanting to open the door and flee again when Jimmy's face screwed up into a dark scowl and his fists balled by his sides.

'You!' he growled, top lip curling up. He began to stalk around the bed towards him.

Pete spun around, back pressed against the door. He held his hands up in front of him, feeling like he was either going to pee himself or faint. 'Jimmy! Wait, look, I came to talk to you! Just wait, Jimmy – _please_!'

His voice hit a high note as Jimmy grabbed the front of his shirt and slammed him against the door. 'What the _hell_ are you doing here?' Jimmy snarled, eyes blazing. 'You must be stupid to turn up here like this!'

'Wait, please, Jimmy!' Pete whimpered. His head was spinning with the sound of the fire alarm and the furious look in Jimmy's narrow eyes. 'Let me explain! I didn't do it, I swear! I didn't kill Zoe!'

'You little bastard!' Jimmy cried, slamming him against the door again. 'I always thought you were my friend, Petey! I thought I could _trust_ you! I should have known you were just another crazy little psycho! I should have seen it coming!' He grabbed Pete's shirt tighter with both hands and hauled him up. Pete's toes scraped pathetically on the floor. 'You fucking _killed_ her!'

'I didn't!' Pete cried, feeling hot, terrified tears spilling down his cheeks. 'I swear, Jimmy, I didn't do it! I didn't even hit anyone! I was framed, I swear! Someone left me to take the fall! Please believe me, Jimmy!' He laughed nervously, but it came out as more of a broken squeak. 'C'mon, man! Can you really picture me doing something like that? I can't even get the lid off the pickle jar in the cafeteria let alone do something like that! Please believe me, Jimmy, I didn't do it! I swear.'

Jimmy glared at him for a moment longer, lip still curled back. His jaw flexed, and then he released him. Pete dropped and stumbled, having to catch the beside table to stop himself hitting the floor. He rested there for a moment, trying to calm his pounding heart, and then looked back up at Jimmy. The muscular boy stood over him, fists still balled by his sides.

'So you know who did do it?' he asked.

Pete shook his head. 'N...no. But I do have a theory...'

Jimmy exhaled in disgust and stepped away. 'Oh I bet you do. Bet you have a whole stream of theories. They sent you to the frigging nuthouse, Petey! They don't just send anyone there! If you didn't do it then you better be ready to tell me who the hell did because if you don't-' He grabbed Pete again and raised a fist.

'The Preps!' Pete squealed, holding his hands up in an attempt to block Jimmy's rock hard fist.

Jimmy stopped, fist drawn back, and frowned. Slowly he lowered his arm and tilted his head. 'The Preps?' he repeated. 'What about them?'

'It was them!' Pete cried. 'It must have been! They're the only people who could bribe Doctor Monroe into keeping me at Happy Volts!' He cowered by the bedside table, watching Jimmy's reaction. At some point his black cap had fallen from his head and now lay on the floor behind the door. 'I know it sounds crazy, I've already tried to explain it to my mom but she wouldn't listen! She thinks I'm insane, Jimmy! I swear I'm not! I didn't do it!' He swallowed but the huge lump in his throat just made him choke. 'You've got to believe me, Jimmy. I can't handle it if you don't. I can't go back there.'

Jimmy turned away, rubbing his hands over his head. The fire alarm stopped, leaving a low buzzing in Pete's ears. He waited for the sounds of the students returning, but he couldn't hear them. After a little bit of pacing, Jimmy stopped and looked at Pete thoughtfully.

'The Preps?' he repeated.

Pete nodded keenly, tentatively straightening up. 'Yeah. I... the way I see it is that one of them got Zoe by accident and Derby is helping to cover it up. And because I was the only one caught by the cops that night they just used me. Derby has enough money to pay off Doctor Monroe to mess around with my observation reports and make it out that I'm some psycho. I know it sounds farfetched but it's the only thing that it could be! I didn't kill her, Jimmy.'

'Yeah, yeah,' Jimmy muttered, frowning in thought. 'I heard you, Pete, calm down.' He was quiet for a moment. 'How did you get out anyway?'

Pete stopped. This was going to be the tricky part. As soon as the name 'Gary' slipped out of Pete's lips, Jimmy was going to fly off the handle. There was no way he was going to believe him now. But Gary must have known the subject would come up, and Pete didn't think it would help matters by lying. Jimmy would find out eventually. Pete cleared his throat and opened his mouth. 'Well...'

Before he could continue though, the door flew open, narrowly missing hitting him in the face. He looked around, alarmed but not surprised to see Gary there, grinning broadly. Jimmy's arms dropped by his sides and he stared in shock.

'Well would you look at this!' Gary laughed, grin impossibly wide. He moved to Pete and pulled him into a headlock while he looked right at Jimmy. 'The old gang back together.' A dark cast flashed over his eyes and his grin froze. 'Miss me, Jimmy-boy?'


	29. Recruitment

A/N: Ah you're all so awesome ^_^ Thanks for all the reviews guys, they really make this story worth writing! Hope you all like the latest chapter - the real action is starting soon :D

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Chapter Twenty Eight

Recruitment

Ah, Jimmy Hopkins. Deliciously moronic and wonderfully dumb. Gary had lay awake many nights, trying to imagine the look on that idiot's face when he finally saw him again. He had thought he had come up with some pretty good ideas of what that look would be, but nothing could beat the real thing. Gary felt tingly at the sight of Jimmy's gaping mouth and the way his squinty, angry little eyes blinked repeatedly while his brick of a brain tried to register the sight before him. The sight was pure ecstasy for Gary, and he wasn't aware how hard he was squeezing Petey until he heard him gasping from under his arm. Gary released him, deciding that it probably wouldn't be a good idea to choke him to death. Petey dropped to the floor with a thud, gasping for breath, but Gary didn't take note of him. All his attentions were on Jimmy.

'Aw, c'mon, psycho!' he grinned. 'Not even a hello? You're leaving me hanging here.'

Jimmy's face contorted into a mixture of pure rage and complete bewilderment. '_You_!' he cried, voice strained.

Gary chuckled gleefully. 'I'm glad you can still put together comprehensible words, Jimmy! You had me worried for a minute there.'

Jimmy started forwards, fists balled so tight that his knuckles were snow white. Before he had taken two steps though, Gary grabbed Petey by the back of his shirt and hauled him between them, clutching tightly onto the smaller boys shoulders.

'Now, now, Jimmy-boy,' Gary smirked. 'I hope you're going to play nice with us. We've gone to an awful lot of bother to come and pay you a visit.'

Petey squirmed in Gary's tight grip. 'Gary... stop it, man...'

'Shut up, Femme-Boy.' Gary snapped, digging his fingers into his shoulders. 'The men need to have a little chat.'

'What the _hell_ are you doing here, Gary?' Jimmy snarled. 'I thought they'd locked you up and thrown away the key.'

'They should have, really,' Gary sighed, shrugging. 'But the idiots keep the keys on this little ring thing on their belts... I guess if they'd thrown it away then I wouldn't have been able to take little Petey here and frolic away with him.'

Jimmy bared his teeth. 'So this is it, huh? You're using Petey to get at me? So what was all that about the Preps, huh? Just some spin to keep me distracted while you get in here?' He turned his angry glare on Petey, which caused the smaller boy to whimper pathetically. 'Do you really hate me that much, Pete? What the hell have I done to you that's so bad? I got you the Head Boy gig! You weren't getting bullied anymore! And this is how you repay me? By bringing this sociopath right to my door? By _killing my girlfriend_?'

'I didn't kill her Jimmy!' Petey whined. 'I didn't! I... Gary offered to help me! I couldn't think of anything else I could do because he was the only person who would listen and... and I'm sorry Jimmy! I didn't want it to be like this!'

'Oh shut up, both of you.' Gary sighed, bored. 'You sound like you're in a daytime soap opera.'

'I've a good mind to kill both of you!' Jimmy yelled, advancing another step.

'Jimmy, _please_!' Petey begged, now with tears soaking his pale face.

'Now hold it there, pal,' Gary said, holding a hand up. 'Believe it or not I didn't come here for a fight.'

This silenced both the boys. Jimmy blinked at him stupidly (there was no other way Jimmy could blink really), while Petey turned his neck and stared at Gary.

'I'm here to help my little buddy Petey,' Gary smirked, patting the smaller boy hard on his chest. Petey wheezed and doubled over, but Gary pulled him to attention again. 'I gather he's already told you our little theory.'

Jimmy's eyes flicked between the two of them. Then he nodded. 'Yeah.'

'Well?' Gary waited for a response. 'What do you think?'

'What do I _think_?' Jimmy cried. 'I think you're both psychopaths!' He turned and stalked to his desk, snatching up a newspaper. He clumsily unfurled it and held it up for the two of them to see.

Gary giggled at the sight of the two photographs that graced the front page; the image on the left was Petey's yearbook photo and the one on the right a picture that the prison had taken of Gary before he had been incarcerated. He shook Petey, who had gone quite limp. 'Look at that, Petey! We made the front page!'

Petey made a low, strangled sound and said nothing more.

'It says here that you tied some guy to his chair after hiding in the back of his van!' Jimmy cried, shaking the paper. 'And that you threatened his girlfriend with a knife!' He threw the paper across the room. The pages separated and fluttered down onto the bed. 'How the hell do you expect me to believe a word either of you say?'

'Uh, I dunno,' Gary replied, mocking thought. 'Maybe by using that lump of meat in your head that's called a _brain_ for once in your life?'

Jimmy scowled. 'Screw this.' He growled, advancing again.

'Think about it, Hopkins,' Gary frowned, tone turning serious. 'This is _Petey_ we're talking about.' He shook Petey, much to the boy's discomfort. 'Petey Kowalski. Little Femme-Boy. The kid who never did nothin' to nobody and got a whole lot of stick for it. The kid who never thought of getting a new school shirt when someone threw in a red t-shirt with his washing. The kid who literally _cried_ when he got a paper cut.' He took one of Petey's arms and waved it around. 'It's a wonder he can barely pick up a brick let alone cave some chick's head in with it!'

Jimmy's jaw set, but he was listening. He eyed Petey thoughtfully, and then looked back to Gary. 'Okay. Say Petey didn't do it. Then why the hell would Derby Harrington go to so much trouble to cover it up?'

Gary sighed in exasperation and pushed Petey away. Petey stumbled and hit the bed, sliding into a sitting position on the floor and hugging his knees to his chest. 'Well it's not going to look very good for the Harringtons if it came out that one of their blue-blooded offspring had gone down for murder. You really think that they would risk their whole empire over one dead Townie?'

'So you're saying Derby did it?' Jimmy frowned, two red spots of colour flooding his pale cheeks.

'Not necessarily, although it certainly looks that way.' Gary replied. 'Could have been any of them. Even if Derby was buddies with some lady-killer then it could certainly damage daddy's reputation.'

Jimmy stared hard at Gary, apparently trying to find loopholes in the theory. But it made sense. Jimmy's eyes moved to Petey, who was still snivelling on the floor. He took a step towards him and thrust out a hand. Petey yelped and recoiled, then peered at Jimmy's hand in bewilderment. Tentatively he took it, and Jimmy hauled him easily to his feet, almost throwing the smaller boy across the room.

'Ah, wonderful,' Gary beamed, clapping his hands. 'Nice to see your reasoning skills are in good working order.'

Jimmy shot Gary an annoyed glare. 'I believe that Petey didn't do it. But I still don't trust you, Gary. I don't believe that you're doing all of this just to get Pete off.'

Gary held out his hands defensively. 'Really?' he cried, pretending to be upset. 'Oh Jimmy, that hurts. You really think I'm incapable of doing something nice for a fellow human being?'

Pete stood by Jimmy, looking at Gary warily as he rubbed his arm. Jimmy also looked at him, obviously wanting nothing more than to beat him senseless. The fact he wasn't tickled Gary and set him off chuckling again.

'You'll see.' Gary smirked. 'Anyway, I think it's time we paid our good friend Derby a visit. Don't you think?'

Jimmy and Petey exchanged glances, and then Jimmy nodded. 'Okay.' He said. 'I'll see this through. But you try anything, Gary...'

'Oh I'm sure you'll punish me for it, Jimmy,' Gary smirked. 'Now get a move on, girlies. I locked the front doors to keep those sodomites out while we talked, but no doubt the Prefects will have turned up to see what all the fuss is about.' He opened the door and grinned at the other two. 'Out the bathroom window, ladies. Let's get this party started.'


	30. Hidden Agendas

A/N: Lol it's taking me forever to get them into Harrington House xD So sorry for the procrasination... but I feel it helps with the tension :p Next chapter will feature a certain blonde haired blue blooded sexy beast xD

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Chapter Twenty Nine:

Hidden Agendas

Pete was in pain. His head hurt, his shoulders hurt, his chest hurt and his ankle hurt. And all of that pain was thanks to Gary. Pete had a feeling he had been so rough because it was really Jimmy he wanted to hurt, but he knew that Jimmy would wipe the floor with him. Gary wouldn't admit it, but he was just as exhausted as Pete was – it showed on his face. His movements were jerky and erratic, but that could just be because he was excited. It was hard to tell with Gary, he was just so damn unpredictable.

And a good example of that was how he had dealt with Jimmy. Pete had been terrified that the knife would come out and someone would have gotten hurt, but Gary was uncharacteristically reasonable. For a moment he really did believe that Gary's intentions were solely to help him; but that was highly unlikely. Not without a good reason.

Jimmy was silent as the three of them crept along the shadowy shortcut that stretched between the library and Harrington House. They had gotten out of the dorms pretty easily – most of the students were trying to break down the locked doors, apparently too dumb to consider checking for open windows or anything. Johnny Vincent was standing aside with Peanut, ranting and raving about being woken up and claiming he was going to break the neck of whoever was behind this dumb prank. With Gary in the lead they had crept along the wall, climbed over the gap, and ran to the library. Jimmy made it easily, but Pete struggled. The only reason he had managed to stop himself from fainting was the thought of that glistening knife in Gary's pocket. If this went wrong, there was no telling what he would do.

'Jimmy...' Pete said quietly, quickening his face to join the silent boy's side. Gary was ahead, walking with that rigid, jittery excitement.

'Now now, Pete.' Jimmy replied, voice low and level.

Pete swallowed. 'I uh... I never got the chance to say I was sorry about Zoe.'

Something flexed in Jimmy's jaw. 'Yeah.'

Pete glanced ahead, checking that Gary was out of earshot. 'And I'm sorry about coming here like this. If I'd had the chance I never would have taken Gary's help, you know that, but I had no choice. No one was giving me the chance to say what really happened and... and I thought maybe you would come visit me so I could explain it to you but...' He shook his head and rubbed his aching neck. 'No one would listen to me. Except Gary.'

Jimmy half nodded. He said nothing, and Pete took the hint. He dropped back a little, feeling like he was going to burst into tears. Jimmy hated him. His parents probably hated him. Everyone hated him... So what if they manage to get him off the hook? People were always going to look at him in that weird way, trying to figure out if he really _was_ crazy and he had been released on a technicality. After all this he was going to have to drop out and move far, far away. Somewhere he could start fresh. Somewhere without psychopaths like Gary Smith...

'The funeral was two days ago.' Jimmy said in a quiet voice, surprising Pete.

Pete glanced up. 'It was?'

Jimmy nodded. 'It was... it was a small thing. I wasn't invited.'

'Oh.'

Jimmy wiped his nose and glanced to Pete for the first time since leaving the dorm. 'Geez, Petey. You look like shit.'

This struck Pete as hilarious, and he laughed. If felt strange laughing, and apparently he had forgotten how to do it properly because Jimmy looked at him in alarm. He quickly regained control of himself and ran his fingers through his hair. 'Yeah, well I've had a pretty bad couple of weeks.' He paused before adding, 'And you don't look too good yourself.'

Jimmy ran one hand over his face. 'I haven't been sleeping well. I was thinking a lot...' He frowned vaguely. 'About Zoe mainly. And you.'

Pete looked down, feeling guilty even though he had no reason to. 'I'm sorry.'

'I kinda knew it wasn't you, Pete.' Jimmy sighed. 'I mean, you're a total wimp. No offence. There's no way you would have hit anyone with that brick, let alone Zoe. Your smarter than that. You don't let your emotions get in the way of your thinking, unlike me.' He sighed again. 'It's all my fault. If I hadn't organised that dumb fight then none of this would have happened. You wouldn't have to go through all this,' He frowned and gestured ahead at Gary. 'That psycho wouldn't be out wandering around and...' He dropped his hand and closed his eyes. 'And Zoe would still be here.'

Pete looked down. He felt bad for Jimmy, but he was right. There was no point trying to deny it. Well, technically this was all Lola Lombardi's fault – her spreading the rumour that Zoe had been with Edgar behind Jimmy's back. But dragging Lola into it wouldn't do any good. Pete might not like her, but he didn't _hate_ her. Pete didn't _hate_ anybody.

He didn't even hate Derby. Even the idea that Derby was the one who had put Pete through all this torture wasn't enough to make him hate him. He strongly disliked him, yeah. But hate? It was a strong word. Only certain kinds of people could really hate. People like Gary.

'Have you two finished chin-wagging?' Gary's voice floated from ahead. 'Because we need to get down to business.'

Jimmy's frown deepened but he said nothing. Pete could tell that he hated going along with Gary's plan, and that he was deeply suspicious, but he wanted to know who was really behind Zoe's death. Pete understood perfectly. He was just scared as to what Jimmy might do to Derby if he confessed to it.

Pete had a sudden frightening thought. What if Gary was taking Jimmy to Derby, knowing full well that Jimmy would do something stupid if Derby confessed? If Jimmy lost his temper he could be lethal. He might even kill Derby. And if Jimmy killed a Harrington it would be the end of him. He would be locked away for life, with no chance of getting out. Was this Gary's plan? The idea shook Pete down to his soul.

'Well what are we waiting for?' Jimmy asked as he reached the wall that led into the Preppie's garden. 'Let's get in there.'

'Cool your jets, Jimmy,' Gary smirked, putting a hand on his shoulder.

Jimmy jerked away, eyes darkening. 'Don't touch me.'

Gary dropped his hand by his side and chuckled. 'Sorry, overstepped my bounds.' He grabbed Pete and pulled him close so the three of them were standing in a triangle. 'Listen up. All those rich bastards are going to be in there. In case you've forgotten they're all Bullworth's best boxers.'

Jimmy shrugged. 'So? I've beaten all their asses more than once. No skin off my nose to do it again.'

Gary rolled his eyes. 'And a great help that would be,' he replied sarcastically. 'No. We need to get in there unnoticed. Then we've got to get Derby to confess in front of all of them. If they find out what he's done there's no way they'll back him up. They'll be too worried about their own reputations.'

'So uh... you're sure it's Derby now?' Pete asked nervously.

Gary grinned at him, dark eyes gleaming. 'Positive.'

Pete glanced to Jimmy, but he was peering towards Harrington House thoughtfully. Gary also looked to him, sensing that he had an idea.

'You got something to add, Jimmy-boy?' he grinned.

Jimmy looked to the two of them, still deliberating something. Then he nodded. 'The front door is alarmed.' He told them. 'But there's a fire escape at the back of the building. It's nothing special, could be opened with a bit force. It's alarmed too, but it takes a couple of seconds to react. All we would have to do is pull the plug from the box above the door before it goes off.'

'Well that sounds like the perfect job for you, psycho.' Gary smirked, clapping him on the shoulder. 'I'm glad we've got you on board.'

Jimmy shot him a disgruntled frown. 'I'm not doing this for you.' He told him darkly. 'I need to know who killed Zoe.'

'Sure you do.' Gary chuckled, and squeezed Pete's shoulder. 'We all do.'

Pete looked at him nervously. Gary was definitely planning something.

'Okay.' Jimmy nodded. 'We'll do it that way. I'm just not sure which room is Derby's so...'

'Don't worry about that.' Gary grinned. 'I'll take the lead once we're inside.'

Jimmy hesitated, then nodded. 'Okay.'

Gary chuckled a little, then pushed Pete towards the wall. 'Ladies first.' He grinned, reusing that old joke again.

Pete frowned deeply, eyeing the wall. Gary definitely had a hidden agenda here. Jimmy could see it too, but he was too preoccupied to keep his mind open for the signs. It was up to Pete to keep an eye on him. And if Gary made a move, he knew he was probably the only one who could stop it.

With his stomach feeling like it was full of lead, Pete hauled himself over the wall and into the Preppy garden.


	31. Judge, Jury And Executioner

A/N: I went to update last night but it kept saying the Document Manager wasn't working Dx So here it is now instead. I hope it reads through okay. I wrote it on my laptop in Microsoft Works, and sometimes if I'm writing in a different program I find it hard to keep the same rhythm as I usually do. If it sucks too bad I'll do it again :p

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Chapter Thirty

Judge, Jury And Executioner

Gary suppressed a cry of happiness as Jimmy shoulder barged the fire door around the back of Harrington House, and decided that Jimmy was probably the most useful tool in the whole universe. He was like a big, squinty eyed, angry faced pocket knife, with all the fancy extras like bottle openers and sporks. Gary had to admit that without Jimmy they would have had no chance of getting inside Harrington House to confront Derby. It was just such a good job that Jimmy was still so damn predictable.

Jimmy disappeared around the fire door, and a moment later there was a popping sound, followed by a quiet beep. The door opened wide and Jimmy waved Gary and Petey into the building. Petey, being the moron he was, began to say thanks to Jimmy, but Gary silenced him with a slap around the back of the head. Petey turned and frowned at him like a wounded puppy, but remained silent. Like a good boy.

Once on the other side of the door Gary slipped ahead of the other two, dark eyes scanning the grand common room of the preppy dorm. Smooth, unmarked oak floors and glossy walls made it so it was a far cry from the boy's dorm. There weren't any unidentifiable stains on the furniture and floor and it didn't harbour the strange scent of sweat, urine and stale smoke that the regular dorm did. It was probably even cleaner than the girl's dorm.

Without hesitating or checking the other two, Gary moved to the stairs and took them two at a time. The stairs were solid, so not a single one creaked under his weight. Jimmy was close behind, moving as silently as Gary, but Petey was trailing. Apparently the little wimp still had a problem with his ankle. If he was going to hold this up then Gary wouldn't hesitate to toss him back outside. After all they didn't really need Petey for the next bit, but then again it was always better to have an audience.

Gary turned through a pair of solid oak doors and instantly moved to another, smaller set of stairs right ahead. He knew exactly where he was going because he had once snuck in Harrington House to pour soap powder in the boiler, and he hadn't been able to resist a snoop around. He remembered Derby's grand bedroom – a room that looked far too clean and efficient to belong to anyone other than a middle aged housewife. He had frilly shit on the curtains and silk on the bed... it was pretty pathetic really. But there was one thing about Derby Harrington's room that Gary was happy about, and that was the large glass doors that led onto the balcony.

'Gary,' Jimmy whispered in the darkness behind him. 'Are you sure you know where you're going?'

'Trust me.' Gary smirked in return as he approached the heavy set door at the top of the stairs. 'I know exactly what I'm doing.' He paused to look back to the other two. Jimmy was peering up at him from underneath that Neanderthal brow of his, while Petey was writhing his hands anxiously in front of him. Gary smirked happily, and then pushed open the bedroom door.

Derby Harrington was nestled in the layered silk bedding that was draped elaborately over his solid wooden four-poster. The sound of the door opening didn't wake him, but Gary made sure his presence was made by flicking the light switch twice.

'Wake up call for a Mr Harrington!' He laughed, running to the bed and launching onto it. He was even more tickled to discover that it was a waterbed, and giggled at the sensation of the rippling mattress beneath him.

'Gary!' Jimmy cried. 'What the hell are you doing? Petey, shut that damn door before everyone hears us!'

Petey obediently closed the door, snapping the lock around. He turned and stared at Gary, eyes wide and confused. Jimmy started forward, but Petey grabbed his arm and shook his head.

'Wha...what the...?' Derby's icy blue eyes opened blearily, his perfectly porcelain arms rising to shield them from the sudden invasive light. The confusion didn't last long and he began to scramble up, legs becoming tangled in the sheets. 'What is the meaning of this?' he demanded furiously. 'What on Earth...?' Then his eyes registered Gary and he stopped dead.

'You'll have to excuse us for dropping in so unexpectedly,' Gary grinned, kneeling on the bed with his hands in his lap. He bounced a little, enjoying the feeling of the lapping bed beneath him. 'But y'know, with Petey and I being on the run and all we kind of have to move around at inconvenient times.'

Derby's furious scowl seemed to relax and he looked momentarily unnerved. 'Kowalski?' he almost whispered.

'Why yes!' Gary beamed, and then looked back over his shoulder. 'Femme-Boy! Say hi to Derby!'

Petey, predictably, said nothing. Instead Jimmy stepped forward. 'They say you're the one behind Zoe's death.' he scowled. Just like Jimmy - so impatient.

Derby's mouth opened and closed a couple of times, eyes flicking between the three of them. 'Well I… I don't…' He stopped again. Quickly his nervous expression returned to one of anger and one of his smooth white feet shot out of the silk bed sheets, aimed right for Gary's face. Unfortunately for Derby the sheet was tangled around his leg so his foot stopped short. Gary's eyes widened, then he laughed gleefully.

'Oh I was _so_ hoping you would do that!' he beamed, then hopped off the bed and hauled Derby off with him.

Derby released a started cry and stumbled, his feet still tangled in the sheets. He caught himself on a polished desk and snapped his head around to them all. 'This is _outrageous_!' he bellowed. 'I'm going to see you all hang for this! My father's lawyers will _ruin_ you!'

'Oh give it a rest,' Gary sighed, rolling his eyes. 'Threatening to sue someone who doesn't actually _have_ any money isn't really that scary a premise. Now do me a favour, Derby, and get out on the balcony.'

Derby stared at him, aghast. He looked ludicrous in nothing but his boxer shorts, but at the moment he seemed unaware of that. 'You get the hell out of my sight, pauper, and I might _not_ rip your scheming little head off.'

Gary chuckled and reached into his pocket. Derby's eyes widened as the switchblade flicked out. He seemed to shrink in its presence. 'Get on the balcony, Mr Harrington.' Gary repeated.

'Gary, what the hell are you doing…?' Jimmy was asking, now sounding worried.

'Jimmy!' Gary grinned, without taking his eyes off Derby. 'Your next job. Go in the closet and get some belts. I'm pretty sure Derby will have plenty of nice strong leather belts in there. I think about four will do.'

Behind him, Jimmy didn't move. 'What are you going to do?'

Gary rolled his eyes in exasperation. 'I'm going to stick this knife in your eye if you don't get those damn belts, Jimmy-boy! You want Derby to own up? Then do as I say!'

Jimmy scowled and remained where he was for a moment longer. Then he caught Derby's eye and saw the sheer panic there. He hesitated, then moved to the closet.

'You still with us, Petey?' Gary called, still keeping his eyes on the cornered Prep.

'Uh, sure Gary.' Petey replied nervously.

'Good, good.' Gary grinned. 'Right, Petey, I want you to get the phone. The one on the far wall.' He cocked his head at Derby. 'That _is _the intercom, isn't it? Your buddies will be able to hear me if I speak into that?'

Derby's face was snow white apart from two spots of red high on his cheeks. 'What the hell is your game, Smith? Do you want money? Because I can give you that. I can give you whatever you want…'

'You got that intercom, Petey?' Gary asked, ignoring Derby completely.

Petey materialised by Gary's side and handed him a white, cordless phone. Only instead of the numbers zero to nine, there was one singular button. Gary grinned at Derby and took a step forward. Derby's eyes were on the knife.

'Okay, okay, Smith,' he said, panicked. 'I'm going. Just…' He trailed off, frantically searching for something else to help him out of this predicament. Then he noticed Jimmy opening the balcony doors, four belts hanging from his fist. 'Jimmy! You're not siding with this lunatic, are you? Don't you remember what he did to you? He turned everyone against you! You're not going to believe a word he says, are you?' His eyes briefly flickered to Petey. 'And him! He killed your girlfriend, Jimmy! Or have you forgotten that? How do you think Zoe would feel about you consorting with her killer?'

Jimmy's top lip curled back and he grabbed Derby roughly by his shoulder. Wordlessly he hauled him out onto the balcony and shoved him down on one of the wooden outdoor seats. Gary strolled out, turning the phone in his hands, grin broad on his face.

'Leave one of his arms free please, Jimmy.' he grinned, circling around the chair.

Jimmy didn't even register Gary and easily tied both of Derby's legs to the legs of the chair, despite his struggles and protests. Derby was red in the face, screaming that they would all pay for this, that they couldn't do this to someone like him, that they would never get away with it. His screams did little to help his case though, and soon both his legs and one arm were tied down to the chair.

'There.' Gary grinned, pulling a nearby table so it was by Derby's free arm. 'That's so much better. Now we can all talk without the risks of flailing limbs, yes?'

Derby turned his head and bared his perfect teeth. 'I'm going to _kill_ you if you even _think_ about touching me, Smith. I'll see you _hang_!'

Gary laughed, then surprised everyone by putting the knife away. 'This shouldn't take long, Derby. At least it shouldn't in theory. It all depends on you really. If you tell us the truth now you could save yourself a whole lot of bother but… but then again you're too proud for that, aren't you, Derby?' He grinned, seizing Derby's free hand.

'Get _off_ me!' Derby commanded.

Gary ignored him and pinned his arm down on the surface of the table. Then, again surprising everyone, he twisted around and sat on Derby's arm. 'Hey, Petey,' he grinned at the visibly sickly looking smaller boy. 'You want to come and give him a couple of sneaky jabs while we're waiting?'

Petey said nothing. He remained off to the side, skin practically grey. Jimmy stepped forward though. Of course that troglodyte would have something to say.

'What is this, Gary?' he demanded.

Gary held up a finger. 'Just a mo, Jimmy-boy. Need to make a wakeup call.' He grinned, then pushed his finger down on the singular button on the phone. 'Wakey, wakey, trust fund babies!' he cried into the handset. His voice echoed in the house through the balcony doors, emerging from the dozens of hidden speakers that were probably in every room. 'And it's my pleasure to welcome you to Psycho FM. I'll be your host for this evening and Derby Harrington is going to be my esteemed guest.' He grabbed Derby's hair and pushed the phone in his face. 'Say hi, Mr Harrington. And don't swear, you're live on air!'

'_Get up here now_!' Derby hissed into the phone.

'Aw I'm so glad you're here too,' Gary grinned, taking the phone back. 'Right, on with the interview. So Derby, tell me, is it true you stitched up dear little Femme-Boy over there to save your own WASP-y ass from those gyrating orderlies?'

Derby struggled to free his arm. 'I have no idea what you're talking about, you lunatic! Get off my arm at once!'

Jimmy looked around at the door, apparently hearing something Gary didn't. It was probably Derby's boys coming to see what the fuss was all about. Gary ignored them though - the door was locked and he strongly doubted they would be able to knock through that solid door.

'How's your arm feeling, Derby?' He asked, smirking.

Derby glared angrily at him. 'It's numb, you psychopath!'

Gary grinned. 'Good!' He turned to Petey. 'Come hold the phone, Petey. I'm going to need both hands for this.'

Petey quickly moved forward, movements jerky. He looked like he was ready to throw up. He took the phone and moved around the other side of Derby, holding it so it would pick up both their voices. He held his thumb down on the button - something that was very hard to do considering how weak he was.

'Jimmy!' Derby wailed. 'You're not going to allow this, are you? I thought you wanted peace in Bullworth! You had your peace until these two messed it up! Don't you see? They're trying to ruin you! If they kill me you'll be an accessory to murder!' His eyes were wide and desperate, and his body convulsed with either the cold air or pure fear. 'Help me and no one needs to know you brought them here, Jimmy! Please help me!'

Jimmy was frowning, obviously torn. Gary grinned at Jimmy, knowing he wouldn't do anything until he was one hundred percent sure Derby was innocent. Then he turned his attention to Derby's limp, numb hand that stuck out beside him and grabbed his index finger.

'Okay, Derby,' Gary announced. 'Here's how this game works. I'm going to ask you some questions, and every time you lie to me I'm going to snap one of your fingers. You probably won't be able to feel it properly while I'm sitting on your arm like this, but the sound of them snapping will probably be enough. And it goes without saying it'll sting like a bitch when I get off.'

Derby's face went sickly pale. 'You wouldn't _dare_.' he breathed.

'Let's test that, shall we?' Gary grinned. 'Okay, first question. Who bricked that Townie?'

'Gary, I can hear them at the door.' Jimmy warned.

Gary could hear them perfectly well, but he didn't give a damn. 'Come on, Derby! No answer classes as a wrong answer!'

'You're a maniac, Smith!' Derby screamed. 'Release me at once! You'll all rot in jail for this! I'll see to it personally! You'll all go to the chair!'

'I wouldn't avoid the question, Derby.' Gary teased.

'This isn't working, Gary.' Jimmy sighed. 'I should have known better than to listen to-'

_CRACK_.

Everyone was silent. Even the swarming Preppies outside of Derby's door had stopped banging. Derby's face dropped and he stared in horror at Gary. Gary grinned back. Then he lifted his hand to reveal a broken pencil.

'Couldn't help myself.' he smirked.

Derby's face flooded with colour. '_You son of a whore_!' he bellowed. '_Get off me! Get off me this instant! I'll kill you, you disgusting pauper! You putrid scum!_'

Gary laughed. 'One more time. Who bricked Zoe Taylor?'

Derby began struggling frantically in the chair. It rocked back and forth, cracking noisily off the stone floor. Petey backed away a couple of steps, eyes impossibly huge.

'Fine.' Gary sighed, and returned his attention to Derby's hand.

_CRACK_.

Derby laughed manically. 'Like I'll fall for that one again!'

Gary slipped off the table and turned to back to him, lowering his smirking face to Derby's. 'I only had one pencil.' he grinned.

Derby's eyes widened and he slowly turned his head to look at his numb hand. At the sight of the peculiarly bent index finger, he opened his mouth and screamed.


	32. Unforeseeable Setbacks

A/N: Wow! Over a hundred reviews! Well I'm baffled to how that happened xD Thanks for the reviews everyone, they makes me veerrry happeh ^_^

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Thirty-One:

Unforeseeable Setbacks

The scream that had escaped Derby's spit speckled lips was terrifying, and even Jimmy recoiled from it. Pete thought he was going to drop the phone, but he knew if he did then Gary would turn on him in a flash. Gary was in his element - he was the centre of attention - and if anyone messed this up now then Derby wouldn't be the only one screaming.

The furious banging on the door of the bedroom began again, this time joined with angry yells and threats. The Preppies were loyal to their leader, no matter how much of a bastard he was. If they got in here they would rip them to shreds. The only one with a fighting chance would be Jimmy, but he looked so shocked Pete doubted that he would be able to fight.

Derby was in the chair, staring in horror at his twisted finger and breathing harshly, gasping and snivelling. There was something very disturbing about seeing the prestigious Derby Harrington strapped to a garden chair in his underwear while he sobbed like a child. Derby was always so smooth, no matter what the circumstances. It was terrifying that Gary had managed to resort someone like him to such a wreck. And the huge smirk on his face said that he wasn't finished with the humiliated Prep just yet.

'Is the feeling coming back yet, Derby?' Gary grinned. 'It usually takes about ten seconds for the pins and needles to set in. Then I guess you'll start feeling the break.'

'_You bastards_!' Derby snivelled. '_I'll kill you! All three of you! Wait until my men get in here, they'll kill you! I can do it you know! I can kill you and nothing will happen to me!_'

Gary swooped down, face inches away from Derby's. 'Ah, so you admit that you could cover up murder, huh? So you're saying you _did_ kill Zoe?'

'So what if I did?' Derby roared. 'No one would miss a pitiable piece of townie trash like her anyway! What good would she ever come of? Her whole life would be wiping up stains from the floor of the brothel she worked in!'

Gary stepped aside without even looking around, already knowing that Jimmy was diving forward. Pete was surprised at Gary's swift movement - it was like he could see the future or something. But Pete couldn't see the future, and he let out an alarmed cry as Jimmy grabbed Derby's head and punched him hard in the middle of his face.

'_You son of a bitch_!' he wailed. 'How dare you say that about her! She was a better person than you could ever be!'

He struck Derby twice more before he managed to compose himself. He stumbled backwards, flicking away a mixture of his own blood from his cut knuckles and Derby's blood from his burst nose. He leaned against the wall, apparently weakened. This whole thing was exhausting for him - both emotionally and physically.

'Well that didn't really work in your favour, did it?' Gary smirked, eyeing Derby.

Derby snorted, then spat a ball of blood on the floor. Blood streamed out of his nose and already his right eye was beginning to swell up. There were tears on his face, but his expression looked more tired than angry. 'Do what you want,' he snarled. 'You're not going to get anything from me. And when the police arrive and get in here they'll shoot you all down where you stand.' His head snapped up again and he glared around at them all. 'Who do you think everyone will believe anyway? I'm Derby Harrington! Do you think the world will believe three psychopaths over me?'

Gary sighed and straightened out Derby's arm again, hopping back onto it. Derby tried to struggle, but he only ended up crying out in pain as he knocked his twisted finger. 'Oh Derby, Derby, Derby…' Gary sighed. 'If we thought it was a simple case of our words against yours then little Petey there would have just had to file a appeal or report or whatever the hell those things are called. No, we _know_ no one will believe us. They won't believe us without proof.'

Derby glowered at Gary, hatred burning in his icy eyes. 'There _is_ no proof.'

Gary just smirked. 'Well then I bet this is going to be a long night for you.'

'Just tell us what happened,' Jimmy demanded in a low voice. He was stood off to one side, concealed in the shadows. To Pete, Jimmy looked terrifying. Derby obviously thought the same thing because Pete saw his Adam's apple bob up and down as he swallowed nervously.

'This is your own fault, Hopkins,' Derby growled. 'It was your fight. You were the one who dragged her into that mess. It was bound to happen.'

Jimmy looked up, eyebrows drawn together. Slowly, he moved back into the light and approached Derby, squatting down in front of him. Derby moved his head back, eyeing Jimmy warily and probably expecting more blows to his face. But instead, Jimmy leaned his elbows on Derby's bare knees.

'I hope whoever it is you're protecting is worth dying for,' he said darkly. 'Because at the minute you're antagonising three guys who have nothing to lose.' He paused, eyeing the Prep's reaction. 'As you keep reminding us, you're Derby Harrington; you've got _plenty_ to lose. You wouldn't get more than five years in prison for murder, not with daddy to pull the strings. And if you covered up for someone I bet it won't come back for you at all. But with us here… Well, three guys with nothing to lose can be pretty dangerous, if you catch my drift.'

Gary chuckled happily. Pete watched, hands trembling, and realised that he was holding the phone right out at them, probably catching every single one of Derby's terrified breaths. But that was what Gary wanted. The Preps outside had fallen silent again. Derby stared at Jimmy defiantly.

'You're a scumbag, Hopkins. I'm glad that whore of a girlfriend of yours is dead. It's a shame you didn't go down with her.'

Jimmy stood up, jaw clenched so hard that the tendons poked out of his neck. He moved to Gary and hauled him off of Derby's arm. Gary stumbled a little way away, still chuckling happily. Pete watched him warily. This was still going according to his plan.

'Wha…what are you doing, Hopkins?' Derby stammered. 'Don't you touch me! Don't you _dare_!' His eyes widened as Jimmy grabbed his numb arm. He looked like he was trying to pull it away, but he had no feeling in it. 'Get off me you stinking pauper!'

'Finger bones are nothing.' Jimmy growled. 'I want you to feel this.'

Derby's eyes widened as Jimmy held tightly onto his forearm with one hand, and his upper arm with the other. 'Don't! Hopkins don't you dare! Don't you…' He turned his head, his voice hitting a high, shrill note. '_Help me! Help me, please! Someone!_'

Jimmy bared his teeth, and then with one sharp jerk, he pulled Derby's arm. There was a loud, audible _POP_, and Derby screamed out deafeningly as his arm was yanked from its socket. Pete's stomach churned and he turned away, retching. Gary laughed happily, smacking his hand on his knee.

_'You bastards…_' Derby sobbed, head hanging as blood and tears dripped onto his bare torso. 'You total… bastards…'

Jimmy released his arm, allowing it to drop heavily onto the table. Derby hissed in pain, but managed to refrain from screaming again. 'I count three more limbs,' Jimmy growled, getting up in his face. 'And once they've all been dealt with I know Gary's just itching to get that knife out again.'

'_Okay_!' Derby cried. 'Okay!' He sighed. He looked to his misshaped shoulder and grimaced. 'That scumbag isn't worth it anyway…'

Gary joined Jimmy's side, draping one arm around his shoulders. Jimmy didn't react to him. 'Oh now we're getting somewhere! I was going to upgrade to arms once all the digits were gone anywhere.' He nudged Jimmy. 'I always knew you would be good at getting people to cooperate.'

Jimmy ignored him. 'Come on, Derby.'

Derby looked to Pete. 'Turn the intercom off. I can't have my men hearing this.'

Pete looked to Jimmy and Gary expectantly.

'Oh-ho no,' Gary laughed. 'I don't think so.'

Derby scowled. 'Then I refuse to tell you.'

'Well then Jimmy will break your other arm.' Gary smirked.

Derby blinked. 'It's only fair that I get something out of this deal. It's the done thing.'

Jimmy narrowed his eyes. 'You are getting something out of it. I won't snap your legs.'

Gary laughed, thoroughly enjoying every moment. Pete felt his stomach churn again. He didn't think he could take watching Derby having his other arm broken. He was hoping Derby would just tell them, simply to get this over with.

Derby was quiet for a long moment, considering his options. The Preps outside had given up trying to get inside. They were probably waiting to find out what their leader had been up to. Jimmy waited patiently, which was unusual for him, while Gary was practically bouncing with impatience.

Finally, Derby sighed. 'I didn't kill Zoe.' he said, voice dripping with hatred. 'I'm not that stupid.'

'So who was it then?' Gary grinned. 'My money's on Bif. I always knew he hated women, the great big homo.'

There was a thud on the door, presumably Bif having an adverse reaction to the comment.

'It wasn't _any_ of my men,' Derby growled. 'We're not idiotic enough to lose our heads in a fight like that. We fight like men; with coordination and tact. We don't go in like damn savages.' He paused, then sighed heavily. 'The man you're after is Johnny Vincent.'

The three of them stared at him for a moment. Then Gary laughed loudly, making everyone jump. 'You think we're that stupid, Derby? Come on, like we wouldn't think you were just using this opportunity to have your worst enemy take the fall for you.' He shook his head and looked to Pete. 'Can you believe this moron, Petey?'

Pete made a slight strangled sound. He couldn't form words anymore.

'Tell us who really did it.' Jimmy demanded. 'Or I'll skip the arm and legs and go straight for the neck.'

'I'm not lying!' Derby cried. 'It's the truth! Vincent came out of nowhere with that brick. It was for Edgar, but Jimmy pulled Edgar down. Vincent missed, and the brick hit Zoe. I had nothing to do with it… apart from paying off Doctor Monroe to keep Kowalski locked up.'

Jimmy scowled. 'I don't believe you.'

Gary leaned forward. 'Say it is true. Why the hell would you even _consider_ paying to save Johnny Vincent's skin?'

Derby glanced away, brow deeply furrowed. He glanced to Pete and the intercom. 'I would really appreciate if you turned that off. They've already heard that I paid off the doctors. What more do you need?'

Gary just grinned. 'Come on, Derby. It's starting to get interesting.'

Derby pursed his lips and then snorted out of his bloody nose. 'Johnny and I have been… _companions_. We have been since Lola left the scene.'

Gary, Jimmy and Pete stared incredulously at Derby. Derby's cheeks turned pink, unable to deal with the stares. Then Gary laughed again - this laugh louder than any other. He doubled over, leaning against the table for support. Jimmy just looked confused,, while Pete felt like he was dreaming.

'You and Johnny Vincent?' Gary cried, tears streaming down his face as he hooted with laughter. 'Oh God, this is better than I ever thought it would be. You've been butt-fucking Vincent? Let me guess; you couldn't stand the thought of Johnny getting it off everyone else in prison.'

'Actually Vincent blackmailed me,' Derby growled. 'I couldn't care less if he rotted away in prison. He threatened to tell everyone about our… arrangement if I didn't help him out.'

'So?' Jimmy shrugged. 'You could deny it. You said yourself the world wouldn't believe psychos over you.'

Derby looked away, grinding his teeth. 'He had…' He paused, then sighed. 'He had a video, okay?'

Gary burst out laughing again, this time actually having to sit down on another one of the wooden chairs. 'Oh this is just _gold_!'

'I want Johnny here,' Jimmy said, face reddening. 'I want him here right now.'

Gary nodded, but he had gone weak from the giggles. He waved a hand when he couldn't form a sentence. Pete swallowed hard and stepped forward, pushing the phone in Derby's face.

'Tell your guys to bring Johnny here.' he ordered in a strained voice.

Derby looked at him with contempt, and said nothing.

'You're not out of this yet,' Jimmy warned. 'I suggest you do as he says.'

Derby hesitated, eyes flickering around the three of them. His gaze lingered on Gary for a moment - who was still chuckling uncontrollably in the chair, then turned his head to the phone.

'Bif,' he said into the receiver. 'Go get Vincent. And don't let anyone know why. I want this sorted without anyone else involved.'

He glared up at Pete. Pete finally took his finger off the button and lowered the handset.

Johnny Vincent wasn't going to be as easy to break as Derby, and everyone knew it. Pete looked to Gary, and was unnerved to notice that for the first time, Gary actually looked unsure.


	33. A Spanner In The Works

A/N: Sorry about the little wait for this one! I just couldn't get it down for some reason. But I've had a good writing session this morning and finally got it done. So enjoy it! Not many chapters left now! xD

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Thirty Two:

A Spanner In The Works

The wait for the Preps to bring Johnny Vincent to Derby Harrington's bedroom (apparently a place the Greaser King was all too familiar with) was excruciating for Gary. He couldn't wait to see Johnny's face when he realised that his plan had backfired and everyone knew he was a raging homo; he couldn't wait to see how Jimmy would react to the murdering scumbag - but most of all, Gary couldn't wait to find out who had been the bitch and who had been the butch.

Derby had gone uncharacteristically quiet, strapped and bloodied and half naked in the wooden seat. He sat with his chin resting on his chest, breathing slowly. His broken arm lay limply across the table, fingers twisted and misshapen. Gary figured he was probably running over how he was going to dig himself out of this one. It was going to take a lot of beatings from his father and even more ass-kissing to scramble back up the ladder of respectability after it came out that he had been fudge-packing New Coventry scum. But at the end of the day he was a Harrington, and Harrington's seem to have a good knack for making things just… go away.

Like Petey, for instance.

At least Derby _thought_ he had gone.

Petey looked ill. Actually ill was an understatement. If it was even possible the little twerp looked smaller, perched on the edge of a large concrete plant pot and fiddling with the intercom phone in his hands. His wide, dark eyes stared off into the distance and he barely had any colour in his skin. This was all too much for him. Too much drama, too much violence. Femme-Boy had always been the same in the way he had detested violence. Even when Gary used to mercilessly torture him back in the dorms he would never raise a fist. And really, if he was honest, that was all Gary had wanted from him. He had only wanted Petey to toughen up a little. He had poked, prodded, punched, kicked, wedgied and noogied Femme-Boy in the hope that one day the kid would just turn and throw one of his girly fists at him. But he never did. And now it didn't even look like he was capable of it.

Jimmy, on the other hand, was raging for a fight. He prowled back and forth in Derby's bedroom, occasionally glancing to the closed bedroom door. From his angle on the balcony, Gary couldn't really see his face, but he didn't have to. Jimmy only had one expression - his '_whut-wha-duh_' face as Gary had mentally named it. Sometimes that expression cracked Gary up, but other times it made him furious. That look had been pretty much what sparked off his vendetta against him. Jimmy was just so infuriatingly _dumb_, and if there was one thing in the world that Gary really, truly hated; it was dumb people.

'Your friend Bif is taking a long time,' Gary smirked, eyeing Derby from his seat at the other side of the table. He had his feet up on the surface, actually enjoying the brief peace. Or the calm before the storm, rather. 'Do you think him and Johnny might have eloped without you?'

'Fuck off.' Derby spat, dry blood flaking on his top lip.

Gary chuckled. 'Now, now Derby. That wasn't very dignified, was it? I thought you were a gentleman?'

Derby just grimaced and turned his head away, icy eyes cast downwards in disgust. 'I see no reason to be dignified for scumbag paupers like you, Smith. You're nothing but trash, so you deserve to be spoken to like trash.'

Gary flipped his legs off the table and leaned forward, slumping on the surface. He stuck out his bottom lip and made a whining noise. 'Oh _Derby_,' he moaned, mockingly. 'That cut so _deep_. And I thought you were so understanding.' He pushed himself up from his seat and slowly moved in front of the beaten Prep. Derby eyed him uncertainly, nervous for another attack.

'You're going to pay for this, Smith.' he growled, then looked around at the other two. 'All of you will pay.'

Petey didn't hear him - he was too busy staring off into the distance. Jimmy was still pacing in the bedroom, and he just grunted something and waved a hand dismissively.

'But you were so understanding with Johnny,' Gary smirked down at Derby, hands pushed in his pockets. 'And he's nothing but trash, isn't he?' He leaned down, hands on his knees and pulled a faked sad expression. '_Oh Derby, I'm oh so blue, my baby's left me and I don't know what to do_.' he mocked in a sing-song voice.

'Shut up, Smith!' Derby snarled, spots of colour spreading on his white cheeks.

'_Lola's such a slut, and that's what she'll always be,_' Gary went on, grin widening. _'A little bit of cum stained Aquaberry is the only thing for me_!'

_'I said shut up_!' Derby roared, dry and fresh blood spraying from his lips.

Gary straightened up and held one hand out in front of him like he was holding reins, smacked the air with his other hand and began to hop around the balcony. _'Oh Johnny V_!' he cried, voice hitting a high note. _'Spank me! Spank me_!'

_'Shut up!_' Derby screamed, humiliated. '_I demand that you shut the fuck up right now!_'

Petey had snapped out of his daze and was watching in bewilderment from the plant pot. Jimmy hadn't stopped pacing, but he was watching with his one and only expression. Gary wanted to keep up the little show, mainly because the look on Derby's face was priceless, but the laughter was weakening him. He stopped, giggling like a schoolgirl, and leaned against the table by Derby. Derby rocked in his chair wanting nothing more than to grab him, but despite Gary being in reaching distance, Derby's crippled arm wouldn't respond to its master's commands to grab him.

'Ah,' Gary chuckled, wiping a tear from his eye. 'Oh man… I'm having a _blast_.'

Before anyone could respond to the comment, there was two loud knocks on the bedroom door. Petey jumped, almost dropping the intercom phone - but he juggled with it and finally regained possession. Jimmy's head snapped around and he stopped his walk. Derby's eyes widened and his expression was one of complete horror. The thought of the humiliation to come was probably more painful than his dislocated shoulder.

Jimmy, as damn thoughtless as ever, started towards the door. Gary whirled around and bounded after him, managing to grab the solid boy's shoulder before he could unlock the door.

'Whoa there, Jimbo,' he smirked, heart thudding in his chest with excitement. 'Opening that door probably isn't a very good idea, is it?'

Jimmy glared at him. 'Why the hell not?'

Gary frowned and put a finger on his chin in mock thought. 'Oh, I don't know… Maybe because on the other side is a bunch of frigging boxers who aren't probably very happy about the fact we have their leader strapped to a chair in his pants.'

Jimmy continued to stare at him. 'Then how the hell are we going to get Johnny in here, huh?'

'Easy!' Gary grinned, then loped back out onto the balcony. He moved to Petey, ignoring the way the smaller boy cowered as he approached, and snatched the intercom phone from him.

'Gary-' Jimmy started, following him.

'You stay by the door, Jimmy-boy!' Gary called to him, approaching Derby. 'You have to let our guest in.'

'Stop this right now,' Derby ordered, practically seething with rage. 'Stop it and I won't have the three of you killed.'

Gary just grinned and stood behind Derby, leaning on his shoulder with one elbow and reaching into his pocket with his other hand. He pressed the button on the intercom. 'Gooooooood morning fags and queers!' he cried into the handset, drawing out _good_ for at least five seconds. 'I hope we've got a nice Greaser waiting out there for us! I hope you put a little bow on him, Bif.'

'Open the fuckin' door already.' Johnny's distinctive voice demanded from the other side.

'Hold up there, Mr V, we've got some safety precautions we've got to go through first,' Gary replied, pulling the switchblade from his pocket. 'Last thing we want to do is open the door and get ourselves rushed.' He laughed before adding, 'Or bum-rushed, as the story seems to be in this room.'

There was a thump on the door. 'Open this fuckin' door you psycho bastard! I wanna know what the shit this is all about.'

'Okay, well the fact of the matter is, I've got a nice shiny switchblade against Mr Harrington's pretty neck…' Gary pressed the cold metal against Derby's throat. Derby went rigid. 'So if I even see a _hint_ of cock sucking Aquaberry I'm going to whip my arm back real fast and give him one heck of a pretty red necklace.' He leaned forward, putting the phone in front of Derby's mouth. 'Think you could confirm that for me, Mr Harrington?'

Derby's mouth opened and closed a couple of times before a comprehensible sound got out. 'Stay where you are.' he said in a strained voice. 'This is between us and Vincent.'

Gary grinned and looked up to Jimmy, who was ready by the door. Petey had retreated and was watching Jimmy nervously. 'Who's behind door number one, Jimmy-boy?' Gary chuckled.

Jimmy's eyes narrowed briefly, then he pulled open the door. A second later and the bewildered Greaser was shoved inside and the door was slammed behind him. Jimmy clicked the lock back and immediately seized Johnny by the back of his leather jacket.

'What the _fuck_ man?' Johnny cried, swinging an elbow around blindly. 'What the hell is goin' on here?' He finally saw Jimmy and blinked in bewilderment. 'Jimmy? What the fuck is going on?'

'Say hi, Derby!' Gary giggled. He grabbed Derby's broken hand and waved it back and forth, causing the Prep to scream out in agony. 'Make sure you speak up, Johnny! We've got an audience!' He waved the intercom phone also, thumb still down on the button.

Johnny looked through the balcony doors. It seemed to take a moment for his eyes to register what he was seeing, but when he did his jaw dropped and his eyes bulged. 'What the _fuck_?' he cried in disbelief.

'Aren't you coming out?' Gary sniggered, removing the blade from Derby's neck. 'It's a lovely night, isn't it Derby?'

'This is all your fault, you Greasy scum!' Derby roared at the bewildered Greaser, face the colour of beetroot.

Johnny blinked and looked around at Jimmy again, hoping for some kind of explanation. Instead Jimmy just bared his teeth and began to shove him angrily towards the balcony doors.

'Whoa there, Jim! What's goin' on here? Why the hell is that psycho here? What the hell have you done to…' He trailed off as he emerged on the balcony and noticed Petey standing off to one side. His confused expression remained for a moment, then relaxed. In fact all of him seemed to relax. His expression became one of mild annoyance rather than horror and confusion. He made a light snorting noise, and then glanced impassively at everyone around him. 'Huh. Should'a known you'd do something' to screw me over, Derby.'

'So it's true?' Jimmy demanded from the doorway. The light behind him cast his face in darkness, but Gary knew exactly what face he was pulling. He had been wrong before - Jimmy had another expression, and Gary had looked right into it on the roof of the bell tower a few years ago. Now Johnny was on the receiving end of it, which just proved that this whole thing was definitely not going to have a happy ending. Someone was going to end up dead tonight.

Johnny rolled his eyes and turned to Jimmy. He sighed and held his arms out by his sides. 'What'd you want me to say, Jimmy? Huh?'

Jimmy stared at him. 'But… Johnny you… I thought you were my pal! All that shit you said about remembering Zoe… telling me I'd move on one day but I'd never forget her…' He paused. 'You fucking _cried_, Johnny! You fucking cried and said you would miss her too! You sat there and said you were gonna find who did it and kill them! You said that knowing fine well that it was _you who fucking killed her_!' He took a heavy step forward, pointing at the busted Greaser. 'And to make it even _worse_ you get your fucking… _boyfriend_ to pin it all on my best friend! What… What the _fuck_, Johnny?'

Johnny's brow darkened and he pointed back at Jimmy. 'Hey, you better not be implying that I'm a fucking queer, kid.'

Gary giggled from behind Derby. 'Well how about we skip the speculation and get down to watching the tape? You do have it with you, don't you Johnny?'

Johnny's head snapped around, eyes blazing. They bored into Gary for a moment, before moving to Derby. 'You fucking _told_ them?' he demanded.

'They were going to kill me!' Derby shot back furiously. 'And this is all your fault, pauper! You were the one who fucking pushed me into framing that little peasant for you!'

'You _offered_!' Johnny yelled.

'Like hell!' Derby shouted angrily. 'You threatened to show that tape all around town! You know what that would do to my reputation? It would destroy my family name! It would destroy all of my father's work, my future, my-'

'You know what, there was a simple solution to that problem,' Gary sniggered. 'You should have left the recorder off. Although I am still pretty curious to watch it if you've got it handy…'

'Fuck you, Smith!' Johnny roared. He held his arms out and turned to Jimmy. 'Yeah, yeah I killed Zoe! I did it trying to get that fucking Edgar kid for _you_, Jim! I was gonna _kill_ for you, Jimmy, so don't you dare stand there and get and fucking uppity with me because your dumb war got out of hand.' He took a step towards Jimmy, jabbing a finger at him. '_You_ were the one who wanted that fight. _You_ were the one who wanted us bricked and piped up. You _wanted_ heads smashing, so you can't piss and moan when it goes wrong. And it was her own dumb fault for getting in the fucking way anyways!'

Jimmy was furious; that much was obvious. His shoulders were rising and falling and his fists were balled by his sides. 'I'm gonna fucking _kill_ you!' he roared.

Johnny tried to brace himself, but Jimmy was too fast and way too angry. He shoulder barged the Greaser, sending him barrelling backwards into Derby and Gary. The chair toppled over, Derby smacking his head off the ground and groaning loudly. Gary did an awkward backward roll and hit the wall, grimacing at the loud crack in his right wrist. He sat up, shook his head, and looked at his wrist. He shook it from side to side and his hand flopped limply back and forth. He frowned in annoyance.

'That was my favourite hand!' he moaned.

Jimmy was now straddling Johnny, punching him repeatedly in the face. Johnny was desperately trying to get his feet between him and Jimmy to push him off, but was struggling. Petey was yelling something - something about stopping before someone got killed - but Gary didn't hear him properly. Mainly because he had just been punched in the ear by a now free Derby Harrington.

Derby stood over him, one arm hanging limply by his side and his other balled in a fist in front of him. Fresh blood trailed from a cut somewhere on his head and his icy eyes blazed with rage.

'I'm going to make you wish you'd never been born, Smith.' the humiliated Prep growled. 'I can guarantee it.'


	34. End Of The Line

A/N: Oooh getting near the end now xD Nice cliffhanger for you all in this one. You'll shout at me. I know it xD

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Thirty-Three

End Of The Line

Pete had seen Derby throwing his restraints aside shortly after the chair had tumbled back and cracked in two, but he hadn't been able to do anything about it. His whole body was rigid, still reeling from the recent revelations. It had been one thing for Gary to _speculate_ that the whole thing had been to frame him, but seeing the truth unfold right before his eyes and realising that to at least two of these boys Pete was nothing but a pathetic scapegoat made his blood run cold.

As he watched Jimmy repeatedly punch the Greaser in the face, Pete wondered what Zoe would make of all this.

Derby scrambled to his feet as Gary sat dazed on the ground. Even with a dislocated shoulder and a bloody face, the Prep was quick on his feet. He was on Gary before he had a chance to react, smacking him hard in the side of his head.

'Stop it!' Pete cried, uselessly. 'Stop fighting! You're going to _kill_ each other!'

Derby threw another balled fist at Gary, knocking him from a sitting position onto his back. 'That's the whole point Kowalski!' He followed the punch with a kick, his foot slamming into Gary's gut and causing him to double over with a wheeze. 'What's wrong, Smith? Can't you take back what you've given out? You're _pathetic_! You're nothing but a disgusting little bug! Another turd underneath my _foot_!' On the last word he stamped hard on the side of Gary's head. If he had been wearing shoes he would have probably knocked him out cold, but Gary's head just collided with the stone floor, dazing him.

Derby was going to kill Gary if someone didn't do something to help him. Pete looked hopelessly to Jimmy, but he didn't even seem aware that Derby was out the chair. Not that it would matter to him anyway. He wouldn't care if Gary was getting a beating - he had his target. Once he had dealt with Johnny he might smack Derby around a little, but then that would be his part done. He would probably be glad that Derby had put Gary out of action for him.

If anyone was going to help Gary, it was going to have to be Pete. But Pete couldn't. He could barely move.

Johnny finally caught up with Jimmy's rhythm and managed to dodge one of his solid fists. Jimmy's balled hand slammed into the hard ground beside Johnny's head and his knuckles cracked loudly. He gritted his teeth and grunted and in that split second the Greaser finally got one foot between the two of them and kicked Jimmy back with all his strength. Jimmy fell back, but was quickly on his feet again.

'I'm going to kill you, Johnny!' he yelled, voice barely comprehensible over his anger. 'You took her away from me! She was my _everything_!'

'You think I don't feel bad about it, Jim?' Johnny yelled back, wiping and smearing blood across his face with the back of his hand. 'You think I'm some kind of heartless psycho?'

Jimmy lunged forward, fists flying. 'You don't give a _fuck_!' he bellowed.

Johnny side-stepped and punched Jimmy in his stomach. Jimmy stumbled off a little, clutching his gut. 'I ain't goin' to prison, Jimmy. Thinkin' about her twenty-four seven is enough of a punishment, don't you think?' He grabbed Jimmy by the front of his shirt and pulled him up. 'I ain't gonna let you send me to prison.'

Jimmy's lips curled back. 'I'm not sending you to prison, Johnny. I'm sending you six feet under!' He brought his knee up, slamming into Johnny's crotch. He stumbled back with a groan, dropping to one knee. A moment later and Jimmy was on top of him again and the pair were viciously punching and clawing at each other, rolling around on the ground.

While that was going on, Derby was having fun being in control once again. His feet were bloody, but it looked like most of it was Gary's blood rather than his own. He finally stopped kicking, apparently to catch his breath, and stood over Gary with his chest rising and falling heavily. Gary pushed himself up on all fours, arms and legs trembling. He hung his head, desperately trying to recover from the fierce beating. He spat weakly and a string of bloody saliva swung from his lips.

'You're pathetic,' Derby hissed, then spat at the boy at his feet. 'You're nothing but a feckless dog. Get up and fight like a man.'

Gary coughed and spat up more blood. Then he muttered something.

'I can't hear you, you disgusting pauper,' Derby snarled, kicking him in the gut. 'I said get _up_.'

One of Gary's arms gave way and he leaned his head on his forearm, back arched and backside up in the air.

'Well if you insist on acting like a dog,' Derby sniffed. 'I suppose I'll have to beat you like one.' He turned his head and shot a steely glare at Pete, who was still frozen off to one side. 'Make sure you watch closely, Kowalski. You'll be next.'

Derby's moment of intimidation was ruined though, as a strange sound from Gary interrupted him. The bloody Prep frowned and looked down at the boy at his feet. Gary's body convulsed and a strained, high-pitched sound escaped him. Derby's frown deepened and he tilted his head. Then his expression turned to one of disgust.

'My God, Smith,' he moaned. 'Are you _crying_?'

Gary pushed himself up again and spat for a third time, before turning his face up to look at Derby. Derby recoiled, as did Pete. Gary wasn't crying at all - the grin on his face was impossibly huge. His left eye was swollen up and thick, almost black blood streamed out from his nose. Stringy red blood swung from his bottom lip, and upon seeing Derby's shocked face, Gary just laughed more. It was an awful sound - a sound that made Pete shudder all over.

'What the _hell_ is so funny?' Derby demanded, sounding furious but also nervous.

Gary sniggered. 'I wanted to ask…' he said in a broken, hoarse voice. 'Which one of you ladies wore the strap on?'

Derby practically shook with rage. His healthy hand balled up tightly and he reached down, grabbing Gary by his hair and hauling him up to his feet. 'You're _dead_, you psychotic scumbag! You're going where you should have been sent a _long_ time ago!'

Pete watched in horror as Derby hauled Gary to his feet and dragged him to the edge of the balcony. 'Jimmy!' he yelled, mostly out of habit. 'Jimmy! Help Gary!'

But Jimmy had his own problems. Johnny had broken free of Jimmy's grip and had gotten hold of one of the chair legs from the now shattered seat that had restrained Derby. He swung it back and forth, making sure he was keeping Jimmy at a safe distance as he backed into the bedroom. Pete could see that Johnny was aiming to get to the door and open it, probably to let the other Preps fight off Jimmy for him while he made a quick exit. Jimmy could also see this, and was desperately trying to circle around him to get to the door. Once he got too close and was clipped across the face with the splintered wood.

Jimmy couldn't help. Pete looked around, heart pounding in his thin chest, to see Derby shoving Gary up against the balcony rail. Gary had found some strength and was struggling back with him, but it was obvious that Derby was the strongest out of the pair. In a matter of seconds Gary was going to go toppling over the side - and they were quite a way off the ground. Pete strongly doubted he would survive the drop.

'Ah, ah, ah, Smith,' Derby growled, somehow managing to keep Gary pinned with his body whilst snatching something out of Gary's grip with his only working hand. 'That's not how real men fight, is it?'

Pete's eyes widened at the sight of Gary's switchblade in Derby's hand. With a swift click of the button, the gleaming blade shot up.

'But I almost forgot,' Derby growled. 'You're not a real man, Smith. You never will be.'

Pete felt something bubbling inside of him. This wasn't how it was supposed to happen. He wasn't entirely sure _how_ it was supposed to happen - only Gary knew that - but he was quite certain this wasn't it. Derby was going to kill Gary, then he would turn on him. Pete couldn't defend himself. In a moment Johnny was going to get the door open and the Preppies would flood in and finish Jimmy off. No, this wasn't how it was meant to be. Pete couldn't let this happen to Gary. He may be crazy, he may be psychotic, but he had _helped_ Pete. In his own screwed up way, yes, but this had all been for him. Gary was going to get himself _killed_ for Pete.

Before he even knew what he was doing, Pete was racing towards the struggling boys. Derby didn't see him coming, but Gary's bruised eyes noticed him and for a split second, Pete thought he saw worry there. But he didn't have time to think about it properly. Pete launched himself onto Derby's back, wrapping his skinny arms around his neck and clinging on as tightly as he could.

Derby released a bellow of anger, stumbling back with the new weight. He waved his arm around frantically, trying to grab onto Pete but not having much luck. Gary tried to move forward, but he only staggered to the left a little and had to support himself on the wall. Pete got another look at him whilst he was being jerked around by Derby, and was then quite certain that what he was seeing on Gary's face was worry. And fear.

'_Get the fuck off me, you little shit_!' Derby screamed, waving his hand around. The switchblade swept by dangerously close to Pete's face, causing him to lose his grip. Pete slipped off Derby's back, but he still held onto his neck with one hand. Derby swung around, face bright red with rage, and planted his hand on Pete's face. He shoved him back hard, causing the smaller boy to stumble and land hard on his back.

'Wait your turn, peasant!' Derby screamed at him, gripping the knife firmly in his hand. He whirled around to Gary again. Gary was slumped against the balcony rail, desperately trying to regain control of his legs. Derby stalked towards him, his breath loud and harsh like a bull.

Pete scrambled up, feeling a new surge of adrenaline rushing through his body. His heart raced at an incredible rate - his veins felt like they were pumping battery acid. He scowled deeply, staring at the blonde Prep, anger taking over.

'It's _your_ fucking turn, you Preppy bastard!' Pete yelled, voice frighteningly strong, and he lunged forward. He swung his fist and it collided with the back of Derby's head. Pain shot up his arm, but it wasn't a bad pain. It was an invigorating pain. Pete had never hit anybody in his life. He had no idea that it felt this _good_.

Derby stumbled and began to turn, profanities on his lips, but Pete silenced him by punching him in his mouth. Derby stumbled backwards again - not from the force but simply from surprise. Pete laughed - although it was more of a shrill wail than a laugh - and he swung his fist once again. This time Derby had readied himself and rose an arm to block him. The knife, still in his fist, gleamed in the moonlight. Pete brought his other fist up - like he had seen Jimmy and Gary do - and got Derby in his ear.

'_Christ_!' Derby yelled, releasing Pete to clutch his ear.

Pete laughed again and grabbed Derby with both hands, aiming to shove him down onto the ground and give him a few kicks. Man, Gary had been right! Pete should have stood up for himself a long time ago. He could do this, it hurt his fists like hell but it felt so _good_! For once Pete looked like he was winning a fight! And when Gary recovered a little more the both of them could finish Derby off. _This_ was how it was supposed to go! _This _was how Gary had planned it!

So why, when Pete looked at Gary, did Gary look so horrified?

Pete knew a little too late. A stray piece of wood from the shattered chair got stuck between his feet and he felt himself falling forwards. His eyes predicted his descent, and at the end of that tumble, protruding from Derby's bruised and bloodied hand, was the switchblade.

'Petey!' Gary yelled, shoving himself forward off the railing.

Derby's eyes also widened, seeing what was happening. He probably would have been able to easily shove Pete aside if he had both hands, but the result was inevitable. Pete felt a sharp pain in his left side, and his hands instantly tightened on Derby's arms.

_'Petey_!' Gary's voice again, but it sounded a little further away. Everything did, actually. Pete slid down out of Derby's grip, dropping onto his knees .The Prep stood in front of him, rigid and speechless. And empty-handed.

The sharp pain went surprisingly quickly, and in its place was a warm, tingly sensation. As he knelt on the ground and his head spun, Pete thought that maybe the knife had only cut him slightly. He glanced up to see Gary drop down beside him, eyes impossibly wide and staring at Pete's stomach.

'It's okay, Gary,' Pete said in a small but calm voice. 'It's just a cut.'

Gary blinked, face draining of all colour. Derby stumbled backwards, only stopping when the rail behind him wouldn't allow him to go any further. 'Petey, just keep still, okay?' Gary told him, eyes not leaving his stomach. 'Don't do anything stupid like look at it or…'

Pete looked down, dazed. He frowned at the piece of black metal that stuck out of his side, and after a moment he realised that the switchblade was buried up to the hilt. His black sweater gleamed and sparkled in the moonlight. Pete tentatively touched the wetness, and pulled his hand back to reveal slicked red fingers. He laughed a little, and looked to Gary.

'Don't move,' Gary told him, face serious. 'If you do anything stupid like throw a hissy fit or pass out, Femme-Boy I swear I'll…'

But Pete didn't hear what else he said. Sound drowned out. All he could see were Gary's lips moving quickly. Too quickly to understand. Then the black spots clouded those moving lips, and Pete was left in darkness.


	35. The Party's Over

A/N: I seriously blown away by all your reviews for this story. I can confidently say that without them this story wouldn't be what it is. They've definately kept me inspired, so a HUGE thanks to all of you. I think there'll be two chapters after this one. Perhaps three. And this will probably be the last epic cliffhanger that I blugeon you all with xD

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Thirty Four:

The Party's Over

Gary felt like he was going to puke. The amount of times Derby's foot had rammed into his stomach must have moved some form of vital organ out of place because something felt strained and twisted. He could taste the metallic blood in his mouth and one of his eyes had gone blurry and out of focus. But he was perfectly alert. Perfectly aware of Petey's unconscious body slumped on the ground in front of him. The switchblade was buried in his skinny little waist, and Gary was surprised that the damn thing hadn't popped out of the other side. Blood soaked the black sweater.

'Petey…' Gary muttered, voice distorted because of his swollen bottom lip. He grasped the smaller boy's shoulder with one hand - his other hand was out of action due to his snapped wrist. He shook him once, hard. 'Femme-boy, you little shit. Wake up. Don't you fucking dare bail on me now.'

Petey wasn't responding. His eyelids were closed, mouth slack. His head rolled back and forth as Gary shook him a second time, even harder than the first.

'_Petey_!' Gary snarled, angrily. 'Get the fuck up! Stop being such a pussy and get the fuck up _now_!'

He was yelling, but he didn't care. He also knew that threats and cursing weren't going to get Petey on his feet - at least not this time - but he didn't know what else he could do. That was all Gary knew. It was the only way he could get Petey to do as he said; but punching and yelling weren't going to work this time. But it didn't stop him.

Gary shook his limp body again, frightened by the unfamiliar tight feeling in his chest. What the hell was that? Was he going to have a heart attack or something? He wouldn't be surprised after the way that bastard had been stamping on his chest. But that wasn't it. It felt like the muscles around his heart had tightened, trying to hold in the pounding organ. What the hell _was_ that?

'What the fuck did you go and do that for you stupid little fag?' Gary yelled at Petey. 'You knew you couldn't do anything! You can't do anything right! You should of just kept out of the damn way! I didn't need your fucking help! I don't need _anyone's _help!'

Something stung his eyes and he impatiently wiped it away, expecting it to be blood from some other Preppy-inflicted wound. But at the gleam on his fingers he blinked. He rubbed the clear liquid between his thumb and forefinger and stared in shock. Was he _crying_? Crying like a little fucking girl over this piece of shit?

His stomach knotted and he grabbed Petey again, confusion and anger surging inside of him. '_Wake the hell up right now, Pete! Or I swear to fucking God I'll finish you off myself_!' His voice broke. It was a horrifyingly frightening sound to him. Gary didn't get hysterical. He kept his cool, no matter what. But apparently that was no longer true. He felt more of the alien, hot tears in his eyes and it only infuriated him further. He opened his mouth to yell again, but another voice interrupted him.

'He fell.' Derby muttered in a small voice. 'He… I didn't mean… I… He just…'

Gary's head snapped around, face streaked with blood and tears. The tight feeling in his chest shifted to something a whole lot more familiar. Anger. He glared at the bloodied Prep, feeling his heart speeding up and the adrenaline pumping through him. His breath hissed out between his teeth.

'The stupid little bastard…' Derby muttered, face white as chalk and eyes like saucers. His hand was still holding the ghost of the switchblade by his side. 'He fell right on it… He just…' His eyebrows knitted together suddenly and his eyes turned into shards of glass. '_You stupid little fuck_!' He bellowed. '_You fell right on it! What have you done, you filthy little wretch?_'

The sound of the raised voices attracted the attentions of Jimmy and Johnny, and the pair of them rushed back out onto the balcony. Johnny's nose was bleeding heavily and the side of Jimmy's face was swollen, presumably where he had been hit by the chair leg. Both of them stared at the scene on the balcony for a few seconds, before Jimmy lumbered forward.

_'Pete_!' he cried, staggering towards the unconscious boy. 'What the hell…' His gaze fell on the switchblade and his tiny eyes widened dramatically. He knelt down and put his hand on the glistening patch by the knife. He pulled back and blinked stupidly at the red blood there.

'Fuck me…' Johnny muttered from the doorway. He looked to Derby, working out from everyone's positions that it had been he who had the knife. 'Shit, Derby… What the hell have you done?'

Derby turned his furious, terrified stare onto Johnny. 'It wasn't my fault!' he roared. 'It was that stupid little bastard! He came at me! He was… he was…' He trailed off, blinking. 'It was self defence!' he finished, lamely.

Suddenly there was a loud crash and the sound of splintering wood. Johnny looked around in alarm and tried to move forward, but blue, diamond printed arms grabbed him and dragged him backwards.

'You stinking pauper!' Tad Spencer's voice floated from inside the bedroom. 'You think you can degrade Derby like that? Well I know a thing or two about degradation, my friend!'

'The others are on the balcony!' Gord cried.

'Out here!' Bif commanded, and ran out of the doors. Only upon the sight before him he skidded to a halt, causing the following Preps to smash into his back. He didn't respond to them though, he just blinked stupidly at what he was seeing.

At the sight of his men, Derby stiffened up. 'Bif!' he cried, eyes huge and blazing. 'Get them! Beat them all down to the filthy squalor they crawled out of! Can you see what they did to me? Make them pay, Bif! _Kill the bastards_!'

But Bif didn't move. His eyes scanned the carnage on the balcony, the spots of blood on the ground and the shattered furniture. He stared at Petey's limp body and the pool of blood that was steadily growing around him. Finally he looked back to Derby, jaw set.

'_What the hell are you waiting for_?' Derby shrieked, face flooding purple. 'Get them! Finish them off! I _order_ you!'

'He's getting away!' Tad yelled from inside, probably referring to Johnny who was making a sharp exit. When Tad didn't get a response from any of the other stunned Preps, he headed out onto the balcony. 'What on Earth is going on…?' He started, but then saw what everyone else was seeing. He stood, by Bif, and stared.

'Why are you all just _staring_, you imbeciles?' Derby screamed, the tendons protruding from his neck. 'I gave you a _direct order_! Kill these scumbags _immediately_! Can't you hear me? Do as I say or help me God I'll ruin _all_ of you! I'll ruin every single last one of you!' He was trembling with rage, furious and confused to why his men just stared at him.

Whilst the other Preps looked shocked, Bif just looked calm. He turned his head to Tad and calmly said, 'Call an ambulance. And the police if they're not already here.'

Tad opened his mouth to speak, but decided against it. He cast one more brief, bewildered look at the balcony scene, and then scurried off inside. Derby stared incredulously at Bif, mouth hanging open.

'Is he alive?' Bif asked Jimmy in the same level voice, nodding to Petey.

Jimmy looked up. 'I… I don't know… I uh…' He just shrugged and shook his head, the shock overwhelming.

Bif moved forward, all eyes on him. Derby was frozen, staring in shock as his second in command continued to ignore his direct order. The large Prep knelt by Petey and felt his neck. 'He's alive.' he confirmed. 'Don't know for how much longer if an ambulance doesn't get here soon though.' He turned his head to the other Preps, who were watching with rapt fascination. 'Get some sheets and a blanket. It's no good moving him but he'll freeze if he stays out here like this.'

Derby blinked furiously. 'Tremblay!' he bellowed. 'What the fu-'

Bif stood up. 'Shut the hell up, Derby,' he scowled, jabbing a finger at his fallen leader. 'I'm sick and tired of cleaning up your bullshit. This is it. I'm not helping you anymore.'

Derby was stunned. 'But… but how… You…' He floundered for words, but failed to hold on to any.

'I knew about that sick deal with Vincent,' Bif snarled. 'I know it was your idea to send that poor kid down for that scumbag so you could keep going with your sordid little fucking _arrangement _the two of you had. Johnny was going to give himself in. I heard you both talking about it. It was _you_ who said you would sort it out. _Your _idea to throw Pete under the wheels. Was it not bad enough that you ruined his fucking life like that? Now look what you've done to him!'

Derby's face had gone back to chalk white. 'How dare you speak to me like-'

'_Look what you've done_!' Bif yelled, pointing down at Petey.

Derby reluctantly looked down. He swallowed hard, probably fighting bile rising in his throat. Sweat sprinkled his forehead. Then his brow darkened again and he looked up. 'It was his own fault! He had it coming!' He turned his attention to everyone. 'You _all_ have it coming! You think anything is going to happen to me after this? Do you know how good my father's lawyers are? They'll tear you to shreds! All of you! I'll _ruin_ you all! I'll _fucking ruin you all_!'

Gary was up in a flash and he seized Derby by his throat, slamming him back against the rails. Derby let out a cry as his top half bent backwards over the edge, hanging over the dark abyss below. Gary squeezed hard on his throat, ignoring the yells of Jimmy and the Preppies behind him. He was going to kill Derby, and that was that. In the space between realising he had been crying and Bif turning on Derby, Gary realised for the first time why he had been doing all of this for Petey. It wasn't for kicks, it wasn't to get back at Jimmy or Monroe, or for anyone else. Gary always knew that he was going to spend the rest of his life behind bars, whether it be in prison or Happy Volts, he had accepted that. But Petey didn't share that fate. Petey was destined to go onto better things - have a normal life. Something Gary would never have.

Little Petey Kowalski. Femme-boy. The kid Gary had spent years trying to change - trying to turn him into a fighter, into a bastard like everyone else in Bullworth. He thought if he succeeded in changing Petey it would make him into a better person, but the fact was that Pete was already a better person. He was a better person than any of these bastards could ever hope to be. Better than Gary could ever hope to be. And the truth was that Gary had _wanted_ to be like Pete. He _wanted_ to be normal, he just never allowed himself to believe it. But now because of this rich scumbag Pete would never have a normal life. That harsh fact crushed something inside of Gary. It crushed his hope.

'_Gary, no_!' Jimmy yelled, but it was fruitless.

Gary stared into Derby's terrified eyes and grinned. 'Try ruining everyone with a snapped spine, trust fund baby.'

Derby's eyes widened and he tried to grapple with Gary, but couldn't keep a grip on him. Gary shoved him back hard and Derby toppled over the rails. His hand remained entangled in Gary's sweater and as he tumbled over the side, he dragged Gary over the edge with him. The pair of them went over the railing, tumbling down five stories to the solid ground below.


	36. Report Incident Statement: Page 1 of 3

A/N: Okay, I've tried something different with this chapter. I know you'll be all 'wtf!?' but I wanted to do it this way instead of having a fanny-about trying to explain what happened lol. And there's been enough action in the past couple of chapters, we need a slow down. I haven't decided if there'll be one or two chapters after this - it'll probably just be the one... and it will probably be up sometime tomorrow because I'm going to be out all day today. I won't keep you waiting for it though.

And thanks for the review shwaaat! I'm sorry if the story took a different turn than what you were expecting, and to be honest I hadn't really planned on it being that brutal xD But to me sometimes if things stay too realistic they get a bit boring. Or that might just be me lol. I'm glad you're still enjoying it though, and regards to the Johnny/Derby thing, if enough people want it I _suppose_ I could write a little oneshot to how that all came about :p

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_**Bullworth Police Department**_

**Report Incident Statement - Page 1 of 3**

_

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_

Incident No.: 294610429

Name (Last/First/Middle) Of Person Giving Report: (Officer) Williams, James Christian

Date & Time Occurred: 171009 0240-0930

Location Of Occurrence: Harrington House/ Bullworth Academy

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**ASSISTING OFFICERS:**

(Officer) Monson, Wayne

(Officer) Ivanovich, Ron

**DETAILS:**

(Some names have been excluded as per request of Mr H)

At approximately 0240 hours, whilst I was on routine patrol in the southern sector of New Coventry, I was contacted by Sgt. Brown and told to respond to a disturbance at Harrington House, Bullworth Academy. We arrived on location at approx. 0349 hours to two ambulances already on scene. Upon full exploration I discovered three critically ill young men, two of which were the recent escapees of Happy Volts Asylum, ---- ---- and ---- ----. The third was a student of the school, and it appeared that the escapees had broken into the building with the aid of an accomplice, one ---- ---- (Suspect A).

Suspect A was the only one alert at the scene when I arrived, and because of his appearance and excited mannerisms I was forced to restrain him until back up arrived. Shortly after Officer Ivanovich and Officer Monson arrived and escorted Suspect A to the station, where I joined them at approx. 0435. While Officer Monson headed to the hospital to check on the three injured, I joined Suspect A in the interview room and read him his Miranda Warnings. I read the warnings from a card that was contained in the case jacket. Suspect A stated that he did understand the warnings that were read to him. Officer Ivanovich and I interviewed Suspect A for about one and a half hours. Approx. 0500 to 0630.

During this interview Suspect A made questionable claims of a wrong arrest in the Zoe Taylor Case (#201647283) and insisted that the two escapees had approached him with the information. When asked for proof Suspect A told me that at least a several people had heard the confession on the supposedly 'real' murderer. He also made vehement claims that ---- ---- had been wrongly incarcerated in Happy Volts Asylum, and a Doctor Monroe had been accepting bribes from ---- ---- to ignore observation reports. Officer Ivanovich went to follow up these leads and Suspect A was remanded in custody. Suspect A continued to act aggressive, demanding to know what had become of the three in the hospital, so force had to be used to restrain him.

At approx. 0728 a dishevelled, beaten young man appeared at the station, apparently confessing to the murder of Zoe Taylor. He was taken and interviewed by Officer Morrison and at approx. 0759, ---- ---- was arrested for the murder of Zoe Taylor. Upon the news that Suspect A had been correct in his suspicions that ---- ---- had been wrongly incarcerated, I travelled to Bullworth General Hospital, only to discover that two of the three were still in surgery, and the third had died on the scene. (PTO)

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-I declare, under penalty of perjury, this statement of  3  pages is true and correct, based on my personal knowledge.

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**_Bullworth Police Department_**

**_Report Incident Statement - Page 1 of 3

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_**

A/N: There's a little poll on my page I'd appreciate a vote on, just out of sheer curiosity xD


	37. Thank You And Goodnight

Thirty Five:

Thank You And Goodnight

It is probably true that your mind is at its most vulnerable when waking up. Those moments between rising up from a dream and returning to reality are sensitive moments. It's hard to get a grasp on what _is_ reality. When breaking out of a nightmare your mind tends to claw back quicker, desperate to get away from the darkness. But when the nightmare _is_ reality, that's a different story altogether.

Pete didn't want to wake up. His eyelids were heavy and his whole body felt like lead. But there was something prodding him. Prodding and poking his shoulder. The peaceful, comfortable area where he rested was disappearing as his consciousness was dragged out of it. He fought the waking process, not wanting to leave this warm place, but that damn _prodding_…

'Hey there. For a second I didn't think you were gonna wake up.'

Pete blinked blearily at the boy beside him. For a moment his fragile mind failed to register the bruised and battered face. His features didn't seem to make any sense. But then something clicked in Pete's brain, and finally the face became familiar.

'Jimmy…' Pete croaked. His voice was weak and his mouth was bone dry. He frowned and tried to push himself up on his elbows, but his arms weren't strong enough. And also as he tried to bend the middle of his body a sharp pain shot through his abdomen, making him hiss and clutch the bed sheets tightly.

'Stay cool there, Petey,' Jimmy told him, expression sympathetic. 'You don't want to pop your stitches.'

Pete blinked in bewilderment. Stitches? Memories were vague and hazy to him, but he was alert enough to know that he was in hospital. He was the only person in the room, besides Jimmy, and various tubes were attached to the back of his hand and running up to those plastic, liquid filled bags on a stand beside him. He looked at them, trying to reorganise the thoughts in his mind. He could remember the balcony… Jimmy and Johnny fighting… Gary spitting up blood… Derby climbing up from the smashed wooden chair…

'You remember everything, Petey?' Jimmy asked gently. 'The doctor said you would be out of it a bit when you woke up. You've been out for about four days. You woke up a couple of days ago but you weren't making any sense.'

'Four days?' Pete asked, surprised. He couldn't remember anything past being on the balcony. He could remember watching Jimmy fighting Johnny, he could remember a switchblade… 'I…' He paused. 'I remember bits…'

'Well you've got one hell of a scar out of this one, Petey. It's gonna give most of the kids in this town a run for their money, I'll tell you that.'

Pete looked down at his body. He was dressed in pale green hospital scrubs. He shuddered, having a vivid flashback of the similar, filthy scrubs he had worn in Happy Volts. He swallowed and turned his head away, looking impassively at one of the many monitors beside him. Jimmy sat and watched him sadly for a little while, before leaning forward in his seat and resting his elbows on his knees.

'You want some good news, Petey?' he smiled lopsidedly. 'You're a free man now.'

Pete looked at him without turning is head. His expression didn't change, but Jimmy took this as a query of confirmation.

'Yeah, really.' he nodded. 'Johnny fessed up to everything. I guess he knew it would come out sooner or later and, well, I guess his only other option was to leave town. But Johnny's not the kind of guy to run away from something.' He glanced down and frowned slightly. 'Guess he needs credit for that.'

Pete continued to look at Jimmy. He felt weak all over, but his mind was slowly beginning to reorganise itself. Jimmy looked terrible; his clothes were creased and blue and yellow bruises covered his face and knuckles. His eyes looked tired, but he still tried to look happy for Pete. He tried to look happy, but he was nowhere near happy.

'Where're my mom and dad?' he asked.

Jimmy half shrugged. 'They'd been here every second for four days. The doctor convinced them to go home for a few hours. I knew you would wake up as soon as they had gone.' He laughed weakly, and then shrugged again.

Pete nodded. For some reason he felt quite impassive towards his parents. He supposed now that his ordeal was over… Well the fact of the matter was that he would never forget that look on his mother's face. Not for a long time.

He looked to Jimmy, knowing that there was a lot of the story left to be told. 'You can give me the bad news now.'

Jimmy's forced smile dropped and he rubbed his head. 'I think we should save all of that until you're feeling a bit better, Pete. The doctor said I could only stay here as long as I didn't do anything to stress you out. He says you're still real fragile. You were in surgery for nearly twenty hours, man. That's something.'

Pete sighed, exhausted. 'Just tell me, Jimmy.' He hesitated, before adding, 'Where's Gary?'

Jimmy cast his eyes to the window grimly. After a few moments he reached down to the floor and picked up a newspaper. He looked at it, eyebrows drawing together. 'Um… after you were… y'know, stabbed,' he paused to clear his throat. 'Gary kind of lost it. He attacked Derby and the pair of them went over the balcony.' His small eyes stayed on the paper for a second longer, and then he handed it over without looking at the boy in the bed.

Pete hesitated before taking it. He felt a knot in his stomach as he held the paper in his hand. He could barely bring himself to look at it, because he almost knew what he was going to see before he even saw it. He stared at the image and the headline on the front page, heart growing heavy. His hands tightened, causing the paper to wrinkle and distort the picture he was looking at.

'Hey, Pete,' Jimmy said quietly, reaching out and putting a hand on his forearm. 'Try and take it easy.'

Pete could feel his body trembling. He wanted to shout, to scream, tear the paper - or at least _look away_ from the paper, but he couldn't. His whole body was still, simply refusing to move. Jimmy's hand tightened on his arm, but he couldn't even react to that. He couldn't even blink.

'He didn't stand a chance, Pete. He was already in a mess. The fall just finished him off.'

Pete finally got a part of his body moving. He shook his head slightly. 'But… no…'

Jimmy's hand tightened even more, like he was trying to contain Pete's feelings with force. 'It's for the best, Pete. The guy was messed up. He wouldn't have had much of a life anyway after all of this.'

Pete finally snapped back to life. He tossed the paper aside, tears stinging his eyes. '_No_!' he yelled. 'He's _not_ dead! He's _not_!'

Jimmy winced. 'Pete calm down! You'll hurt yourself!'

'_No_!' Pete wailed. 'He can't be dead! Jimmy… He was the only person who believed me, Jimmy! He's the only person who would help me! Even my own parents wouldn't help me! He did all of this for me, Jimmy, and it's killed him! He's dead because of _me_! Gary's dead because of _me_!'

Jimmy pushed him down on the bed, probably to stop Pete from hurting himself in his hysterical state. He kept him pinned down easily, and after a couple of seconds of trying to fight him, Pete realised he was just too weak. He lay on the bed, tears streaming from his eyes, and sobbed pathetically. Jimmy looked down at him, expression confused and upset. His nostrils flared and his eyes were slightly reddened. Jimmy wouldn't cry, but this was probably the closest he would ever get to it.

'Pete calm down,' he told him. 'There's nothing you can do about it. It's over. He's gone.'

Pete closed his eyes tightly and tried to compose himself. His chest hitched and the odd, straggling sob escaped as he sucked in air to try and hold them back. 'He was the only one, Jimmy…' he whimpered. 'He was the only one who would help me…'

'He did help you,' Jimmy told him. 'Christ knows why the hell he did it, Petey, but he helped you. He did it in his own fucked up way but you're a free guy now. Johnny's gone down for killing Zoe. As soon as Derby gets out of hospital he's going straight to court for bribing Monroe and helping Johnny to cover up Zoe's murder. The Harringtons are already getting ready to up sticks and leave Bullworth after the tape of Derby and Johnny got out. If Gary had lived through it he would have gone straight back to Happy Volts and they would have done hell knows what to him. He probably would have spent the rest of his life doped up to the eyeballs. Can you imagine it, Petey? What do you think Gary would rather be; brain-dead or just plain dead?'

Pete sniveled, blinking away the last of his tears. 'You're… you're right Jimmy,' he sniffed. 'It wouldn't be… Gary would hate that.'

Jimmy nodded, breathing out heavily. 'Are you okay now?'

Pete nodded. Jimmy hesitated before letting go and tentatively sitting back down in his seat. He watched Pete closely as the small boy carefully propped himself up, wiping at his eyes with the back of his hand. The pair of them sat in silence for a long moment.

'I want to go see him.' Pete said.

Jimmy glanced to him with a frown. 'What?' he asked in bewilderment. 'Pete you can't. You're not strong enough.'

Pete turned his tired, purple ringed eyes to Jimmy and blinked slowly. 'I want to see him, Jimmy.'

Jimmy regarded him for a moment, and then sighed heavily. 'Okay.' He rose from his seat and nodded. 'Okay, Petey. If you're sure.'

Pete just turned his head away and looked at the window. Jimmy lingered for a moment, and then headed out, closing the door firmly behind him. As soon as he was gone, Pete closed his eyes tightly and willed himself not to cry.

* * *

It took Jimmy about an hour to find out where Gary's body was being kept, and it turned out that he was still in the hospital morgue. Pete wasn't surprised to learn this. His parents didn't care enough to come and fetch him and there wasn't anyone else to take responsibility for him. Pete wasn't sure what the hospital did with people who had no one to bury them. No one to miss them. Cremation, probably. Perhaps they would bury him in the overgrown, dishevelled corner of the cemetery in a flimsy coffin with a small, unmarked headstone. The idea of someone with a personality like Gary's being buried in a dank, anonymous patch made Pete feel sick.

As Jimmy pushed his wheelchair down the smooth corridor, Pete wondered how much it cost for a proper burial.

'You sure you want to do this, Petey?' Jimmy asked, his solid hands wrapped around the handles of the wheelchair behind Pete's shoulders.

Pete swallowed. He felt ludicrous in the chair, being pushed around like a baby. Jimmy had practically had to lift him into it, which had been embarrassing. Pete had to stop himself from offering to push instead of Jimmy. 'I'm sure, Jimmy.'

'We're not allowed down here,' Jimmy reminded him for the eighth time since they had left the hospital room. 'So if anyone asks we're just lost looking for the candy machine. We won't be able to stay long, so say your bit and we'll get out of here.'

'Sure, Jimmy.' Pete nodded, but he wasn't really listening. His attention was on the double doors that they were approaching. Above those doors in neat, evenly spaced lettering, it said 'MORGUE'.

Jimmy pushed Pete through the doors and came to a stop. The room was cold, causing Pete to shiver involuntarily. There were no windows because the walls were covered with square metal doors with thick, fridge-like handles. There was a gurney in the middle of the room, gleaming underneath the fluorescent light above it. There was a strong smell of bleach or some other chemical - with something faint underlying. Fortunately there was no one else in the room. At least there was no one alive.

Jimmy moved forward, walking along the rows of doors, scanning the little white cards that were slotted in the plastic pockets stuck there. Halfway around the second wall, Jimmy came to a stop and looked to Pete. His face was even paler than it had been earlier. He opened his mouth to speak, probably to ask if Pete was sure, but decided against it. He sighed, and then pulled open the door.

Pete used the handles on the wheels of his chair to push himself over to Jimmy. It was actually quite hard work - it had always looked so easy when other people did it, but then again it probably didn't help that he was weaker than a kitten. He felt the cold air coming out of the open door, cool condensation spilling out. Jimmy reached in and pulled out the trolley with a grunt.

Both boys looked at the white sheet that covered the body. The shape of head and shoulders were obvious. Pete suddenly felt quite disorientated. He was suddenly absolutely positive that Gary was going to sit up, tossing the sheet aside. Jimmy would start laughing, then Derby, Johnny, Doctor Monroe, his parents - everyone…. Everyone would jump out laughing and tell him that it all been one huge joke. Just one long, elaborate prank just to screw up little Femme-Boy even more than he already was.

But by the sickly look on Jimmy's face, Pete knew that wasn't true.

'You don't mind if I wait outside, do you?' Jimmy asked. 'I don't really… I don't want to see it.'

Pete wanted to correct him, _don't want to see _him_, not it_. But he didn't. Instead, he nodded. 'Okay, Jimmy.'

Jimmy cleared his throat, small eyes running over the covered body, and then quickly headed out. Pete watched him go and waited for the doors to stop swinging before he turned his attention back to the body before him. He swallowed hard, feeling sick with nerves. He wasn't sure why he had come down here. Maybe because he couldn't believe that it was true until he saw it for himself. The idea of Gary gone… It was unimaginable. Gary was the kind of person who would be around forever. He had so much life in him, so many ideas - okay most of them were insane ideas, but they were still there. It was hard to believe that all those crackpot schemes were gone. Gary wouldn't come up with another one ever again.

Pete took the corner of the sheet between his fingers, took a deep breath, and then pulled it back. He stared at the pale face there, unblinking. He felt unusually calm. His heart slowed down, and he stared. His brain couldn't fully comprehend what he was looking at, so he kept staring.

Staring at the body of Fido, the paranoid guy from Happy Volts.

It took about a full thirty seconds for Pete's thoughts to snap back. He moved to the small metal door, not caring that it was agony for him to shift the wheelchair around on his own. He looked at the name card, convinced that Jimmy had just gotten the wrong one. But no. The tag said 'Gary Smith'. Pete looked back to the body. Maybe his exhausted mind was just playing tricks on him? Maybe he was just seeing Fido because he couldn't believe that Gary was actually dead? He wheeled himself right up to the edge and stared hard at the face.

Nope, definitely Fido.

Pete swallowed hard, finding his mouth bone dry. His hands trembled. 'He couldn't have…' he mumbled. 'No way… not even he could pull that off…'

Then Pete noticed something. Underneath Fido's skinny pale arm, Pete could see the a corner of yellowed paper. He looked at it for a moment, unblinking.

_No way_. He thought. This couldn't be happening. He was still unconscious - yeah, that was it. He was still unconscious and just having some messed up dream. The stress and the exhaustion and the strain on his body had just been too much and he was hallucinating. Maybe he had finally just gone completely insane. It had to be one of those three options, because there was absolutely no way on Earth that this could be what it looked like.

Pete tentatively reached forward, not wanting to touch the body. He grabbed the corner of the paper and tugged. It slipped out easily. It was cold to the touch. Pete stared at the crudely folded up piece of paper, eyes staring at the familiar scrawl there.

_-FB_

FB. Femme-Boy. Gary's writing.

'No way…' Pete murmured.

Before he got around to unfolding it, however, the morgue doors opened. Jimmy stuck his head inside. 'Pete,' he hissed. 'Someone's coming. Get it away.'

Thankfully Jimmy didn't notice that it wasn't Gary on the trolley. Pete pulled the sheet back over, taking a second to look hard at the face - making sure that it _was_ Fido - and then pushed the trolley back in and pushed the door shut. He stuffed the paper up his shirt just as Jimmy reached him, grabbing the wheelchair and turning him around.

Someone walked in, but Pete wasn't paying attention. Jimmy started talking, but Pete didn't hear. All he could see was Fido's pale, lifeless face. All he could feel was the cool paper against his stomach.

All he could think was; _No way._

* * *

A/N: Before I get lynched, there's one more chapter. Or rather an epilogue. :P


	38. Epilogue

Epilogue

For a while Pete thought Jimmy would never leave. After being caught in the morgue by a hospital porter the pair of them had been escorted back to Pete's room, where the doctor went on to lecture the both of them about responsibility. He kept saying Pete was still very fragile. He didn't need all of this excitement. Jimmy muttered agreements, but his eyes were on Pete. Pete's eyes were on his hands. His hands were under the sheets, clamping tightly onto that bedraggled piece of paper that had been, until recently, tucked underneath a dead man.

But a few minutes before seven pm, Jimmy decided that it was about time he should go. There wasn't much point in him staying anyway considering the pair of them had sat in silence since returning from the morgue. Pete was desperate to read the letter, but for some reason he just knew he would have to wait until after Jimmy had left. That would be the way Gary wanted it. And plus, Pete was frightened that if Jimmy looked at the body in the freezer he would see Gary - and it would just confirm that Pete had finally cracked up.

The room seemed bigger when he was alone. Darker too. Jimmy had closed the door behind him when he had gone, cutting off the light from the corridor. The only light Pete had now was from a low watt bulb in a lamp on his bedside and the departing light coming in from the window. Even though he was alone, Pete didn't unfold the letter. He just held it in his hands, running his thumb over the indents made by the pen. He fancied that it still felt a little cold, but that would be impossible seeing he had had it up his shirt most of the day.

How the hell could Gary have pulled that off? Pete couldn't for the life of him work it out. They hadn't been apart long enough for him to set something like this up. And how the hell did he get his hands on Fido? Had he killed Fido to take his place? And how come no one had noticed that it wasn't him? Did people care about Gary that little that they wouldn't even notice that it wasn't him? It was insane. It was _impossible_.

But then again, it was _Gary_.

Pete pulled the folded paper out from beneath the sheet and looked down at it, before unfolding it carefully. The paper was quite thin, and a strange shade of yellow. It wasn't until Pete had it unfolded completely that he realised that what he was holding was a burger wrapper. It still smelled faintly of processed meat.

But that wasn't what had Pete's attention. The rushed but neat words captured his eyes. Pete blinked, then frowned slightly. Then he blinked again at the two lines there.

_Told you to trust me, didn't I? Stay girly, Femme-boy, it'll keep you sane. See you on the other side, Pete. _

_-Gary_

Pete swallowed hard, once again feeling hot tears stinging his eyes. That was it? No explanation? He screwed up the wrapper into his fist and squeezed it tightly. That crazy son of a bitch had disappeared without even bothering to tell Pete how he had done it. All he had left was a half-assed goodbye note on a burger wrapper. Couldn't even bother to show his face one last time. Pete wouldn't be able to confront him about Derby.

'Gary you son of a bitch!' he cried angrily, slamming his fist that contained the balled up note on his knee. The sudden movement made his stomach hurt and he flopped back, eyebrows drawn together.

The bastard had just gone. Just like that. Pete probably wouldn't see him again. Wouldn't speak to him. He wouldn't be able to … hell it was cheesy… but he wouldn't be able to thank him for saving his life. Because that had been what Gary had done - for whatever reason. He had saved Pete's life. And Pete couldn't even thank him.

Pete wiped the hot tears from his eyes and straightened out the note again. He blinked at it, then noticed a line that he hadn't spotted before. He frowned, wiping the blurriness away, and raised the paper to his face.

_I'll be in touch someday. Promise._

A wavering sigh escaped from Pete's mouth and he closed his eyes tightly. At least it was over. He rolled onto his side and was instantly asleep, clutching the note to his chest. He slept better than he had done in months.

* * *

Damn weather had to ruin everything. It seemed that whenever Gary was in a good mood it had to go and rain. It was absolutely pissing down, and he was soaked. It was even worse because for now these were the only clothes he had, and considering that he was currently dead he couldn't exactly swan into a store to buy some new threads just like that.

He tried to stay in the small dry patch in the alley, but water from somewhere dripped down onto his hood. He ignored it though, his arms folded over his chest and watched the glowing hospital across the street. He looked at his watch impatiently and sighed. He had said seven on the dot. It was closer to ten-past. He wouldn't be able to stay here much longer. But he couldn't go until he…

There he was. Gary narrowed his eyes at the sight of the boy leaving the hospital, pulling the collar of his jacket up and holding the front together. He barely glanced around as he quickly made his way down the steps and across the street. Gary watched him eyes narrowed, as he drew closer to the mouth of the alley.

'You're late, Jimbo.' he called.

Jimmy looked up, frowning. Rain water ran over his shaved head and between his eyes, but it didn't seem to bother him. He glanced up and down the street before moving into the alley. 'I wanted to talk to the doctor.'

Gary half nodded. 'Did you do what I asked?'

Jimmy nodded. 'Yeah I stuck that damn note under that dead kid.' he snorted. 'I can't see why I couldn't just tell Pete myself.'

Gary clicked his tongue and wrinkled his nose as he glanced around. 'Nah. Petey likes to think he's special. Wouldn't be the same if he knew that you knew.'

Jimmy eyed him for a moment with that dumb stare of his. 'How'd you pull it off, Gary. Huh? At least tell me that.'

Gary grinned, eyes sparkling. 'A good genius doesn't share his secrets, Jimmy-boy. Let's just say that I was prepared.' He took a step towards the other boy, enjoying the look of confused annoyance on his face. 'A little bit of meticulous planning never hurts, James. You remember that and it'll take you far in life.'

'Yeah, well it killed you.' Jimmy replied.

Gary chuckled. 'I'm doing pretty well for a dead guy, don't you think?'

Jimmy had nothing to say to that. He glanced over his shoulder at the sound of faint voices on the street, but the couple passing were too concerned with the heavy rain to notice the two of them. 'So what now?' he asked. 'You're just leaving?.'

'Well yeah, as long as you brought what you said you would.' Gary replied casually. 'I hope you're not _worried_ about me.'

'It's Pete I'm worried about.' Jimmy frowned.

Gary's frowned vaguely. 'He'll be fine.'

'Sure he will. Especially with you out of the picture.' Jimmy took a step forward, eyes narrowing. 'I know what you're like, Gary. You didn't do this for nothing. You'll hold this _favour_ against Pete, then one day you'll come back and turn his life upside down all over again. But I'll tell you now, Gary, that's not gonna happen as long as I'm around.'

Gary smirked. Just like Jimmy. Aggressive even when there was no reason for it anymore. 'Don't worry, James. You get Pete all to yourself.'

Jimmy scowled, then reached into his pocket. He pulled out a brown envelope and thrust it into Gary's hand. 'There's a hundred dollars and a train ticket.' he told him. 'That's all I could get hold of, so make it last.'

Gary peered in the envelope and whistled. 'Wow, Jim. I'm touched. I hope you're not expecting anything for this cos… well, I can't perform with a dry mouth.'

'Get the fuck out of my sight, Gary.' Jimmy spat. 'I don't want to see you again, okay?'

Gary smirked, tucking the envelope into his pocket. 'I'll miss you too.' he chuckled. His smirk dropped though, and he felt his eyebrows drawing together. 'Just… you keep an eye on Petey. Make sure of it.'

Jimmy looked to him sharply, frowning deeply. He blinked a couple of times, trying to figure out whether or not Gary was being serious. Then his annoyance shifted into bewilderment and after a moment, he nodded. 'Yeah. I'll watch him.'

Gary nodded. 'Make sure you do.' he said, turning away. 'Cos he's not going to get anywhere on his own. Well adios, James. Nice knowing you.'

'Wait.' Jimmy called, taking a step after him.

Gary stopped and glanced back, for once in his life with a solemn expression. The two of them stood and looked at each other for a long moment, before Jimmy half nodded.

'Careful out there.' he said.

Gary just smirked. 'Sure, sure.' he replied. 'For a minute there I thought you were gonna ask me if I bumped off Fido.'

Jimmy blinked. 'Did you?'

Gary laughed silently. 'Day release.' he replied. 'That's what day release does to you.'

'You didn't answer the question.' Jimmy pointed out.

'I didn't intend to.' He grinned once more, before saluting Jimmy with two fingers. 'Ciao, James. Another time, maybe.' He headed away, pushing his hands deep in his pockets, and left Jimmy standing watching after him.

Plans are funny things. They never go exactly how you imagined them to go. Sometimes inspiration strikes and changes the plan ever so slightly - and even the slightest tweak can completely warp the outcome. Other times they fall apart almost immediately. Something gets misjudged and the whole thing comes crashing down around you. The latter is probably the most common. It's rare, even fairly impossible, for a plan to go _exactly_ the way it was meant to. And that's why Gary was grinning now. He had written that note on the burger wrapper the day they had left Happy Volts. While Petey was off getting hysterical with mummy dearest, Gary was on the phone, blackmailing Theo Kazan. Theo had come through pretty well for him. If it wasn't for the day release forms for Fido and a few extra strong sedatives, the whole thing would have fallen apart.

But it didn't. It couldn't have gone better.

Of course it couldn't have gone better; he was a genius.

Correction; he was a _fucking genius.

* * *

_

A/N: Well that's the end of that story xD I hope the ending wasn't too disappointing - I originally planned to kill of Derby, but the idea of Gary getting banged up for murder didn't bode well in my little world lol. And plus I couldn't do that to the lovely Mr Harrington xD

I've got to say absolutely huge, massive, GARGANTUAN thanks to EVERYONE who's been reviewing and following this story. I've been totally blown away by how many reviews I've gotten, which has gotten me even more paranoid about the ending (I had to write it tonight though, if I didn't I would have kept putting it off and it would never have gotten done xD). It's your support that kept me writing, and it was the main fuel beneath all of the cliffhangers towards the end lol.

So anyway I hope you enjoyed reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it. I was going to do a sequel, but basically I don't want to mess up this story by giving it a crappy sequel. So I think it'll stay as it is. But I have two other stories I'll get around too eventually - both of them are mentioned on my profile. Also I was going to start an RPG in the forum parts, so let me know if you'd join in! I don't want to make one that will just die and collect dust like all the others Dx

I'll end this epic author's note now lol. Again, uber thanks to everyone!! :D :D :D


	39. Note

A/N: Okay, even though I said I wasn't going to do a sequel, I really want to do another Gary story and I don't want to completely disregard this story when I do it. So would people still read a fic set after this one even if it was solely about Gary? It would be in a different town and everything... I'm just curious. I don't want to ruin this story with a crappy sequel like I said, but if enough people would read it then I'd do it :P So let me know! :D


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